I Take Steroids

No, I'm not pursuing a career in professional baseball.

Oh, man. If I had one word to describe this week it would be "itchy".

First it was the chiggers (lake itch/swimmer's itch) I picked up over the Fourth.

SO ITCHY. NO SLEEPY.

Then last night I suddenly got red bumps on my elbows. I thought it was very strange, but assumed I must have set my elbows on something at the outdoor tables at Dairy Queen earlier that evening. I washed my elbows, took some Benadryl, and slept like a baby. Ahhhhh.

AND THEN.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up this morning was how I couldn't clench my fists. My hands felt so funny. They were SO SWOLLEN. Hmmm. I glanced at my elbows and saw how they were very bumpy and very hot-feeling. Hmmm. Then the LEGS. Have you seen the movie Hitch? 'Cause my legs looked like Hitch's face after he eats fish. WHOA. I'm not known for being the most alert or perceptive person in my first waking moments, but this chain of events brought me into reality in a hot tick.

I rushed my getting-ready-for-the-day, ran over to pick up my boss (who I had already planned to pick up at 6:40 to run to a meeting together), and quickly got confirmation from her that I should go directly to the doctor - do not pass go. Then I called doctor-sister (and woke her up on her vacation - sorry) to see if she thought I was allergic to almonds. Not sure how I thought she was going to figure that out for me, but it's the only thing I can think of that might have caused a reaction like that. I haven't eaten almonds....ever? I seriously can't think of when I would have eaten almonds. I always pick them out of trail mix, or if I do eat them in trail mix, I only eat a few. But yesterday I had about 30. I couldn't help it. They were covered in Dove Milk Chocolate, ATHANKYOUVERYMUCH.

Four hours after visiting the doctor I had taken steroids, ended the CRAZY ITCHING, and watched my legs turn back to normal. WHEW!

Now I'm headed out to practice my swing. I think the Twins need someone new in left field.

Believe It

I've had the song "Don't Stop Believin'" in my head ever since I fell in love with the show Glee and all things show choir. Plus, I just love Journey.

My roommate has been queen of the amazing YouTube videos lately. And tonight's did NOT disappoint. Especially since it is "Don't Stop Believin'". You won't believe this guy's voice....



Yeah.....he totally has an amazing voice.....as a guy AND a girl. So strange. And awesome.

Just for good measure, I'll post a Disney song too. Cause it's kinda freaky how he can do this!

Good Morning?

Well, the wake-up part of this morning could have gone better...

[Alarm rings]

[HB hits snooze]

[Alarm rings]

[HB hits snooze]

[HB promptly realizes that she should NOT be hitting snooze....]

[HB QUICKLY sits STRAIGHT up in bed]

HB: "OH NO!"

[EB, who is spending the night, is awoken]

EB: "What..."

HB: "I missed my tennis match!"

[HB hastily grabs her cell phone, now realizing she is more than 20 minutes late for her match. She simultaneously feels terrible for the player she has left waiting for a match that won't happen and about the thirty dollars she will owe the club for missing a match]

Tennis Club Man: "Hello"

HB: "Hi, I was calling to say that I am going to miss my league match this morning"

Tennis Club Man: "Umm....we don't have leagues this morning"

HB: [thinking she has lucked out and managed to sleep in on one of the days when there are byes] "Oh, great! Thanks!"

[HB hangs up phone and lays back in bed]

HB: "There's no league today. I guess they have byes today."

EB: "Don't you have tennis on Mondays?"

HB: "Yeah, at 6:30, but he said there are no leagues today."

EB: "It's Sunday."

[long pause]

HB: "Wait. What? Wait. Oh, man. It's Sunday? I had no idea it was Sunday. Wait a minute. What day is it? I never would have known it was Sunday!"

EB: "You just told me last night that you might happen to wake me up when you were getting dressed in the morning because you didn't know what you wanted to wear to church."

[long pause]

HB: "Yeah."

EB: "Do you still have time to make it to Welcome Team?"

[HB checks the clock]

HB: "Oh, yeah, I have 40 minutes."

[HB lays back down, sleeps for a moment, starts laughing...]

HB: "I can't believe that..."

EB: "HB! LET ME SLEEP!"

---End Scene---

This dramatization might not be EXACTLY accurate (because I was obviously out of it at the time), but it is very, very close. I've been known to be a bit groggy when I get up in the morning, but today really takes the cake. We've all had days when we wake up and are not sure what day it is, but it usually only takes a few moments to realize what is going on. I actually made a call and was told there were no leagues, and I STILL thought it was Monday. Yikes.

Total Dread

UGH.

I have to go to the dentist tomorrow and I seriously can't STAND the dentist.

Last week my roommate showed me a video on YouTube that made me laugh SO hard. Maybe you've already seen it (since it's already been viewed on YouTube 23 million times....), but if you haven't, I shall share it here. It's well worth your two minutes.




"Is this real life?!"

"Why is this happening to me?!"

"Is this going to be FOREVER?!"

Oh, man, I know how that kid feels!

I hope I don't feel like that after my appointment tomorrow...I need to be ready to play kickball!

Yard Work and Quilting

While I was mowing tonight (yes, I'm one of the few people in the nation who believe it is a perfect time to mow when the heat index is 98! Don't worry, I hydrated all day in anticipation of my evening activity) I was struck with the similarities between yard work and quilting.

Stick with me, readers. Both of you.

I was surprised tonight by how much I like to mow. I mean, I remember that I like to mow, but it had just been so long since I've done any mowing that I forgot how much I like it. Which for some reason made me think of quilting (one of the reasons I like mowing: my random mind gets even more random and has time to just wander...) because I was surprised at how much I liked quilting when I started that a few years ago. So that got me to thinking about the similarities between the two.

Here is what I came up with:

• Results: Both quilting and yard work have nice results, and the results are pretty immediate. You can do your projects in chunks, but you can always see the instant results of what you have just done.
• Detail: Yard work and quilting both have various levels of detail. You don't necessarily have to be uber-meticulous to do either, but the more meticulous you are, the better your results are.
• Cost/Time: Quilting and yard work can both get pretty expensive, depending on how much you want to put into it. It can also take a lot of time, depending on how much you want to put into it.
• Socializing: I realized tonight that I probably only quilt because it is a social activity for me. Which is funny, because quilting most likely did not start as a social activity (I'm assuming it was just much more practical and necessary than that in the beginning). I rarely break out my quilting supplies to do it by myself; I just wait until the retreat and quilt for an entire weekend while I talk, eat, and laugh. It is AWESOME. And while I don't mind mowing by myself, I realized that I would probably do a lot more yard work if it became a social activity. I could imagine taking up gardening if I had a friend doing it with me (not that I need another hobby....and not that gardening runs in my family at all.....). So while quilting and yard work probably seem like solo endeavors, I really prefer them as social activities.

Some men probably don't understand why some women love to quilt so much. And some women probably don't understand why some men love their yards so much. But maybe they're actually very similar at the core: detailed, results-oriented, and they provide a great sense of accomplishment. No wonder I like them. So, if you ever want to rake some leaves or whip up some baby quilts, I'm your gal!

Resisted

These shoes were LITERALLY calling my name



But I resisted.

Only because they didn't have my size.

Birthday Week 2009

Oh, it was a very fun week! Here is a list of some EXCELLENT things from the week:

• Went to LaCrosse last Friday for my sister's graduation from Residency. We ate at Fridays where they have AMAZING Jack Daniels menu items. YUM!
• We "celebrated" Father's Day there and Dad is pretty EXCITED about our gift to him (motorcycle rental for a day).
• We also celebrated my birthday where my sisters announced their gift to me: tickets to the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TOUR!
• The next day there was a picnic for my sister's graduation where we learned to play croquet. New favorite yard game!
• That night we went to a banquet for my sister's graduation. SUCH an accomplishment!
• I then ate Chicken McNuggets at midnight on the way home......to stay awake. And because I wanted too. And because they are delicious and I hadn't had any in SO LONG.
• I was on Welcome Team for church, which I totally love!
• Four people got baptized after church
• Then we had a picnic on that very hot day, where we played sand volleyball until I wanted to pass out, and it was SO FUN
• Monday night was spent helping some best good friends move back just a few blocks away! YAY! The night was gorgeous and a bunch of us stuck around to eat and laugh and it was good times had by all.
• Tuesday was the Twins game: DOME DOG, fun friends, Mauer went 4 for 4, and we won!
• Wednesday was kickball: my team surprised me with a cake and a gorgeous card!
• We also happened to beat the only other undefeated team in the league that night, so now we are in first place!
• Thursday (my actual birthday) started with leftover cake for breakfast!
• Had a very productive day at work, for good measure
• PANCHO VILLA for my birthday dinner! Thoughtful friends, great food!
• Received beautiful flowers from my aunt
• Lazy day off on Friday (finishing up work from the week and getting ready to head to the cabin)
• Basketball friends at the cabin - they also surprised me with a cake (complete with sparkler-candles)!
• S'mores, bonfires, late night board games, yard games, grilling, and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT WEATHER...
• Learned to knee board (my friends brought knee boards instead of wake boards, so that is what I learned, and I liked it!)
• We also had JET SKIS for the weekend!! MY FAVORITE!!!

Can't think of much else. Needless to say it was a FANTASTIC Birthday Week!! My thanks to everyone who went the extra mile with surprises and kind words and coming out to celebrate with me! I feel BLESSED. I also feel older, because all this activity has left me EXHAUSTED!!