not a spider bite...

it's a localized staph infection...
and I have a 100.5 fever.
boo.

sinister

um, so it's not a good month for my sinister side.

As I mentioned before, I hurt my left pinkie toe on that damn barricade at Mayfest. I had to get a tetanus shot, and it went in my left arm, so that was sore for a few days. I burnt the tip of my left thumb with hot glue. When I had my sinus infection the left side was worse than the right side.

And now I have bite on the left side of my chest, just under where my bra sits. yee-haw.

I'm pretty sure it's a spider bite (it has that white spot in the center), and I'm rather certain I got it at the nascar race (seeing as how I noticed it when I got to Katie's parent's house afterwards!) and it's still swelling two days later. This is the fifth spider bite I've had like this, and the fourth one I got over a holiday weekend. However, it's the first one not on an extremity. sigh.

The nascar race was so much fun! Denny (#11) even held the lead for a couple of laps! I'll have pictures and the full story soon...it's a doozie.

woo-hoo!

X3 was good, but not as good as the other two.
time to go hide from the sun at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Yeehaw!

who-cares-ual?

note: some of the senitments expressed in this post have been made more clear. if at any time you thought I was confirming that I thought that Justin was gay, you were sadly mistaken. all I meant to say was that 1) I don't think so, 2) people should exercise tact and follow the golden rule and 3) I don't care one way or another, anyhow. yeesh.

So, in the past-let's say eight-days I've had eleventy billion people ask me if/tell me that/explain to me why my ex-husband is gay. Eleventy. Billion. Give or take a dozen. Okay, more like four. But whatever.

Some of these people are pretty random. Like, I haven't talked to them since my sophomore year of college. And some of them just haven't ever gotten the chance to tell me/talk to me, I guess. One person in particular just wanted me to know that I was too good for him, and it came out in that convo.

But you know what? I don't care. I do know that currently he's in a relationship with a girl. Does that mean he's not gay? No. But does it mean that I want to dissect whether or not he is, or that I think he is? Clearly, surely, positively not. Nor does it mean that I care one way or the other. But, for the record, as far as I am aware he is not.

And why do people feel it is appropriate to randomly broach that subject (the cause for the divorce, that is)? I mean, if you're a good-ish friend of mine, and we haven't really ever talked about it, and you waited to talk to me in person, okay, that's completely reasonable. But why does Mr. Random McRandomson ex's frat bro over here think it's okay to myspace message me about something like that? Especially when Mr. R McR was 1)never my friend and 2)never my ex's friend? Do people not know tact? Or couth? Or decency? I mean, if you wanna ask, ask. But don't say "did he come out of the closet, is that why you 2 split?" 'cause that just ain't classy.

Plus, I can't just ignore it because people would assume they were right. And the honest answer is I don't know. Or maybe. Or no. Or certainly. Or are you kidding? Or I think not. Or more importantly, I don't care.

It doesn't matter to me, and it doesn't reflect on me, and quite frankly all I DO care about it that I just hope that people can play nice and be happy and not judge one another. I guess I may be asking for too much.

Anyway, done ranting now.

Today I'll see XMen 3 (STERLING SAYS STAY TIL THE END OF THE CREDITS!!!) and on Sunday I'm going to a Nascar race in Charlotte to have a hot-dog grillin', beer drinkin', ear-plug wearin', good time! Here's to redneck fun! Go nummer-'leven! (I don't know who that is, but 11 is my favorite number, soooo...)

tulsey town, part two

riverside drive
Otto hadn’t actually walked around on it, so I took him on the pedestrian bridge and everything. See, aren’t we cute?

And I really wanted a picture of this. I’m sure that seems silly, but it makes me think of home, and it makes me happy so I’ll do what I want, dangit! I really wanted to get a picture of it as the sun was setting, but that didn’t happen this time. Perhaps on my next visit.

poor anna
Anna is now living in the “little house,” aka a barn type structure in my mom’s backyard. I think it’s a really good thing for her, and a good thing for my family too. On Friday when we had chicken and veggie enchiladas with Mexican rice it was so so so sad. Anna had gone to the doctor earlier in the week and they tested her for strep—and the quick test came back negative. But the long test came back positive, and Anna couldn’t come into the house since DeeDee, Chauncey and Bob hadn’t yet been exposed (plus we didn’t want to be re-exposed). This was the first time since I moved away that Anna really wanted to be there with us as a family, and she couldn’t come. Luckily she’d been on antibiotics for 24 hours by the time Mayfest rolled around, so I got to see her then. Sometimes I just cannot believe we’re twins.

recipe boxes

so friggin weird. so, when I moved into our apartment last May I went shopping at Everything But Grannie's Panties, per Audrey's recommendation. It's a knick-knack/antique store that sells things suuuuuper cheap. And while buying two pieces of furniture I saw these two little tins--one was a recipe box, and the othe was just a round tin with a lid. They were different, but both cute and flowered, so I bought them. I now keep my measuring spoons in the round one, and recipe cards in the tin one. I had always wanted a tin recipe box--my mom had one, and I loved it. And when I came to Tulsa on Tuesday I checked hers out, and I made Otto bring mine to show her--because I have the EXACT SAME tin, only smaller. She bought hers thirty some odd years ago in who knows where, and I found mine in Durham, NC. Of course I was inclined to buy one because of her, but all I recalled is that hers was flowered--and I'm sure there are dozens of different patterns that were made. And of all of them, I picked the one that she already had!!!

food
~zio's with the grandparents

~mazzio's takeout at home when I arrived tuesday night
~big al's pita sandwich and smoothies with laura millspaugh on friday--so yum!
~baxter's on saturday, as previously noted
~shades of brown--banana lattes are AWESOME (and another person helped me here--I asked where the napkins were, and instead of telling me a fellow customer went and got them for me!
~ted's cafe escondito--if you're in BA or Stillwater go eat here--it's deee-lish!
~sonic-the breakfast of champions
mmm-mmm-mmmmm-mmmmmm-mmm

crafts
the bead merchant is a super-fun place. s-u-p-e-r. and it's waaaay too easy to spend waaaay too much money there. but opalite? probably some of the coolest beads I've ever seen. I also bought some pretty coral and jade, and some other stuff too. I'm excited about making necklaces! I got some fun stuff at hobby lobby too. I miss it. I hate it that there are eleventy-billion colors of the sugar and cream all cotton yarn there, and we get like six colors (if any!) at michaels. The beads were also 50% off, so I got some to compliment my bead merchant acquisitions. Yahoo!

I’ve tried to make two of the things Renee, Jess and I saw while shopping. One of them worked very well—see? Galvanized bucket/container +glossy mod podge=fun! A word to the wise, fabric stretches with glue, and also, I put glue directly on the bare metal and on the fabric. The other thing I tried—the rolled up magazine picture frame thingy—is soooo worth the money at the store, because it’s a pain. I tried using elmer’s glue first (since it’s thicker than mod podge) but that didn’t work. So last night I tried hot glue. It 1. dries too fast and 2. is hot and 3. burnt my left thumb. So I think I’m scrapping that idea. Perhaps I’ll come up with another way…

old school
TU is crazy stuff! there's construction EVERYWHERE! and they're moving the bell! and what's this "increase the percentage of alumni who donate $$$ so we can move up a tier" email I got? It was nice to see Karen, my OCD, and to get some new TU gear with *ahem* a discount. And Karen gave me a little present too. She's so fun! It had been SO! LONG! since I saw her last.

I went to Edison too for Harvey's concert, and they've painted over the bricks in the auditorium (I didn't notice that last time, I was too busy gawking at the carpet) and they've changed all the parking/roadways AND they got rid of the prefab! But this was neat--even though Otto thought we should be able to step on it--some schools step on the seal for luck, and others treat them reverently.

and here Adam, Harvey and I are after Harvo's school concert.

bluebell
oh, how I miss you. it's a pity they didn't have tin roof, but their mint chocolate chip totally made up for the lack of tin roof. I was so excited in Albertson's that I took a picture! Otto and Adam made fun of me, per usual. AND, my favorite part? If you open up the pic you can see that TWO people have chosen bluebell icecream over other varieties--because they put down their first selections to get bluebell instead! mmmmm bluuuuueeeebeeelllllllllll....

tulsey town, part one.

so, I'm just going to tell these stories in little sections. because that's what I feel like doing.

my name is Alva, you can pray for me.
So, I’m at Albertsons in Tulsa, buying the makings of the chicken enchiladas, veggie enchiladas and Mexican rice that I’m cooking for dinner for my family, and my cashier is a black lady named Alva with far, FAR too much blush on. I’ve just asked a dumb question, and I’m amused that I’ve forgotten that in Oklahoma you don’t have to have those little store-cards to get the sales. I mention to Alva that I’m from out of town—from Raleigh—though I grew up in Tulsa. She explains that she wants to move out of town, to Kansas City, Missouri. There’s still $50 worth of groceries to ring, so I ask her why. She explains there’s a church there that she really wants to go to. I say, “Oh, so you’ve visited there?” She says, “no, but I can really feel the power of God when they pray for me over the phone.” Riiiiiiight. I told her I hoped she got to move. When I was leaving she told me her name was Alva, and I could pray for her, pray for her to get to move to Kansas City, Missouri. Hmm.

karaoke.
Is a dangerous, dangerous thing. Dangerous like a dinosaur. Or a ditch in Latin class. Dangerous. Especially if said karaoke is 1) on ladies night where beers are one dollar and 2) is accompanied by mini-pitchers. And that’s how I spent my Thursday evening. Some place called Another Round--it's on Brookside, not even a mile from my mother's new house. And now Otto and I own two mini-pitchers, which compliment our large pitcher quite nicely.

cft time
Jess and Renee are the coolest!

We had so much fun! Lunch with Granny at First Watch, lemonade, guac, a cute apron, sunglasses (that were sunglassy, Renee!), the gap, utica square, panty-shopping, dinner at Ted's Cafe Escondito, getting a new planner, seeing Jeremy's home...so fun! We were all SO tired when we got finished though.

mayfest
Incredibly wonderfully extremely good. FIRELANE, Harvo's band, was kick-ass. They were double-kick-ass because they are all fourteen. Harvey is wearing the superman shirt and that's Brandon with the polka-dot guitar.

and here's some other mayfest fun...

and I got to see Sydney C, randomly, and Dustin came with Jess, Cody, Renee, Otto and I.

We all went out to dinner at Baxter's too--tres fun! And tres yummy. Brooke was so right about that honey pepper bacon, and their dessert is magnificent! As is the bruschetta. And for the first time in my life I asked if I could please have a side of bacon--I'm serious! And I'm SO glad Syd saw me. I also got to see Sterling's mom, brother and his brother's fiancee, too! DeeDee and Chauncey were a lot of fun as well. And Firelane was AWESOME. They even had tshirts (though it was a bit disconcerting when I realized that Harvey's face will be on my boob whenever I wear the shirt...) And Otto got a mayfest koozie with his $3 can of bud light, so it was pretty much worth it, all in all.

and here R, J and I are being "groupies." Well, not really because 1. we're like ten years or so older than those boys and 2. um, harvey is my brother. But still. We were jumping up and down pretending that we were so excited to see them, and then we started laughing, and well, here it is. Cute pic, no?

What wasn't worth it, you might ask....

well, the tetanus shot, for one. (okay, it's important to get them after getting cut on metal, I know, I know, but I'm getting ahead of myself.) we're on our way to Renee's car so we can go eat at Baxter's. I've been taking pictures of downtown Tulsa, like the first one.

And then after crossing the street, I took that last one--you'll notice it's not as good. So, we're right by the PAC, and we've just crossed the street, and I've turned around to take that last picture picture. I take one step back to get a better angle, and when I turn around I catch my left pinkie toe on one of these.

Usually, you would notice something like this when it was right in front of you. But if you're a foot from it it's kind of out of your line of sight. I came so close to not hitting it--I was half an inch from clearing it--but I caught it . I thought I'd stubbed my toe. I was wrong.

A nice couple handed me a napkin because I was bleeding a lot. I sat down to take care of it, and Otto went to see if first aid could come to me. A Mayfest worker walked by, suggested we find a police officer to contact the Mayfest EMSA and suggested I scoot closer to the beer booth since they might give me a beer out of pity! Otto had beaten us to the punch, and the nice police officer he found came over and called the Mayfest EMSA, and asked me if I wanted him to see if he could get some firefighters over. "Only if they're cute," I said. "Everyone looks good in their turnouts," he replied. We all laughed. Renee wanted them to bring the jaws of life, and Otto asked for life-flight.

When EMSA arrived they all but laughed. They had to dig for a bandaid. And the guy explained that they didn't have any neosporin because they're used to dealing with bigger injuries than I had. Yeah, funny. It kind of stung, but it didn't hurt too bad--I just figured an open, bleeding wound wasn't the thing to have. So then I had some Anchor Steam at Baxter's and made nerdy jokes with Syd and Otto and all was well. However, my toe hurt a lot on the way home from Tulsa on Sunday, but it's getting better. And since I had my last tetanus shot likely 9 or 10 years ago, I need another. And my arm is sore. Still.

Oh, and Renee took pictures.

and on that note I end part one of the tulsey town story.

gift cards for good.

My friend Paige told me about this...personally, I think I have like $1.64 on a gift card, and I think I'll send it in.  :)

 

It's a website, Gift Cards for Good, to collect gift cards for charity.

Come on, lend a hand! Send your old, mostly-used gift cards to us. You might have some that were gifts and others that were given to you as store credit. We will use your cards for charitable causes--to help people who need something that they can't get themselves. We will collect hundreds of gift cards from all kinds of stores. Each one may only have a little bit on it, but "a lot of a little makes a lot". Once we've collected a lot of cards, we can use the value that has built up from each little bit and do a lot with it.

We will take gift cards from just about any store you can think of and do wonderful things with them! For example, we will be able to help buy food for hungry children and clothes for cold children. We will also be able to give presents to kids who never get any at the holidays. We can also help charities that build houses for those who don't have the money to do it for themselves.

A couple of dollars left on a gift card won't do you much good. However, if we collect lots cards from lots of people then we can do lots of good. Please help.

t-to-the-ulsa

m is for mazzio's, that's good enough for me. and is also the first thing I ate in t-town. I've yet to have bluebell, but don't fret, I'll manage.

with the exception of a jackass who sped around too quickly (though the rental car wasn't damaged or even hit) everything has been peachy keen. the main on the plane from stlouis to tulsa got my backpack down for me, and the guy behind me in the rental car line lifted my suitcases into my car without my asking--I just went to put my purse in the front and there he was, unlatching them from each other and lifting them in. i TOTALLY went to Pine and Peoria instead of taking the correct way to my mom's, but that's okay.

and renee and jessica and I played all day long. there are some super cute little shops in tulsa. and buying underwear is much more fun when there are three people picking them out. so! fun!

more fun to come....and pictures too, I'm sure. this mac is kinda old and doesn't seem to like me very much, so it will have to wait until I get home...

have any of you tulsans

hear about this place? It was recommended. And I hear this place is good too. 'course, I'm really looking forward to this place , but I have multiple meals to eat when I'm in Tulsa, sooooo.....yeah.

also, I might not have internet. so it's highly possible that I'll have to call someone with internet to relay comments because I get on a place in just over five hours!!!! yippee!

working? not so much. more like watching the clock slowly make that circle that means an hour has gone by. I absolutely can't wait for 2pm when I'm leaving work!

oh, and PS. Grey's Anatomy season finale--whoa! Hell of a way to end the season. So good, so happy, so sad, so miserable, so angering. Yikes.

ooh, and this was kind of neato. check it out. i'll have to visit the links when I am not at work...

the longest I've lived.

this, this is the longest I've lived...- duh-, you might say.  or -me too!- to which I would reply, well, if only you'd let me finish, I could explain.

 

this is the longest I've lived in one place.  well, since going off to college, anyhow.

 

dorm rooms, the KD house, moving home for breaks, living at my g&g's after Adam usurped my room, TU apartments with a miserable-to-live-with but not actually miserable person (the nay-sayers j, t and l were so right!) then moving to NC, living in Chapel Hill for seven months, Durham for nine months, Raleigh for five months and now--now! I've lived in Morrisville for nearly twelve months (on Saturday it will be) AND we just agreed to live there for a total of twenty-seven, and that makes me gloriously happy.  Well, that and the new oven I think they'll be giving us since our old one is still all tilt-ee. :)

 

I'm quite pleased with our decision.  Otto and I celebrated with yummy mexican food and a pitcher of beer on Saturday.  And then we saw Pinback at Cat's Cradle.  I hate Chapel Hill, but I loooove their concerts.  Plus, I was excited to see a zombiedefense.org sticker on the paper towel dispenser in the ladies room.

 

And, though I promise I took David's advice, I think I've made a decision.  Well, for now, anyhow, and by not thinking about it.  It occurred to me (in the shower, as all good ideas do) that if I got an MBA, no matter how lucrative the degree might be, my heart just wouldn't be in it.  I'm a nerd.  Down to the core--it's even in my bones.  So Materials Science and Engineering seems like the degree for me.  It ups my nerd quotient, and I like that. 

 

is this definite?  surely you jest.

do i know what all this decision entails? heck no.

but am i relieved that it is made, at least for now? you betcha!

 

only 32ish hours until I should be in Tulsa, tasting the goodness that is mazzio's pizza and blue bell's tin roof icecream! yippee! I can't wait to see everybody! 

searching the good search.

this is really cool.

 

it's not much, but it's something.  and though "goodsearch it" doesn't sound nearly as swell as "google it," there's something to be said for giving to others through something you already do.  I found out about it on the KayDee website, but you ChiO's and G-Phi-Bs and whatnot are on there too.  I checked for you--how Panhellenic of me! ;) 

 

each search earns roughly a penny, and they do monitor for fradulent searches, so clearly you can't jus tgo and type letters a million times and have them count it.  no cheating for charity!  but I think it's neat.  It's powered by Yahoo!

 

have a fun weekend.  tonight we're celebrating my scholarship with sushi! mmmmm sushi!

 

catchfriggintwentytwo.

so....

 

i took this semester off from school because I was going insane.  the semester ended like, yesterday. if you have been out of class for a semester you are no longer allowed to use NCSU's career counseling center.

 

my brilliant place was to call them and ask questions since i cannot decide if I want to get a PhD (or Masters) in Materials Science and Engineering or an MBA.  This is quite important, as I want to enroll in a class next semester.  I figure it would be beneficial to get a taste of what I'd be getting into, plus it's paid for, plus it might transfer.  All good, right?  Right.

 

but dammit, I can't even talk to these people.  Now, I will say that they did give me some other people to call, and they did tell me some books I should try to check out.  But what I really want to know is: if you've got your BS in ChE, and you get either of these degrees, what do you do?  where do you go from there?

 

I mean, I wasn't even 100% sure what a ChE did when I picked the major.  I just knew that I enjoyed Math and Science, and it would be more beneficial to pursue those interests/skill sets than English or Art.  But if I'm honing my skills then it really matters.

 

so, I can't talk to the career people because I didn't take a class this semester but I didn't take a class because I couldn't afford to pay for it and now that I can afford to take a class I can't talk to the people who will help me decide what class to take because I didn't take a class this semester since I couldn't afford it.

 

Nice.

 

I have never wanted so badly for someone to just tell me what to do. 

today's mail was not as good as yesterday's mail.

today's mail wasn't exciting.  it had two dickblick catalogs (one for me and one for otto too since he bought me an easel for my birthday), a mid-week-values ad, this month's issue of cooking light, some bills and some junk mail (or to-be-thrown-away-mail, if you're one of the Junks.)

 

but yesterday?  yesterday I was thrilled.  there were some bills (one for redbook magazine--how'd I get that?), some stuff for otto, a letter from PCA-NC thanking me for volunteering at their Picture This event and a letter from Kappa Delta Headquarters.  As I opened the KayDee letter I was wondering why in the world they were sending me a letter--I got these big huge envelopes-o-stuff sometimes when I was the President, but they never sent letters.  So, I opened it, and know what?  I got a KD Scholarship! Yippee!  It's a pretty big deal (like, lots of applicants and not so many scholarships), and it means that I'll get to take an online class in the spring and the fall, and I like that.  Now, if only I could decide if I want to go the Materials Science route or get my MBA...hmm...Otto and I are going to celebrate my fun stuff with sushi.  mmmmm sushi!

 

I'm soooo excited for the weekend AND for next week because I'll be in Tulsa starting on Tuesday night!  Let me know if you'd like to get together!  I'm pumped about seeing my family, going shopping, seeing my T-Town friends, eating Mazzio's Pizza, having Cheryl cut my hair, going to TU and the like!  

 

I hope the next few hours go by quickly.  I'm yawning and tired and it's only 3 o'clock!

firelane

aah! check ~this~ out!

see, 515pm on Saturday? THAT'S the band of my little brother Harvey. They're playing at Mayfest, how exciting is that?!? I will be in town then, so I'll get to see him. I'm so so excited! Their band is actually pretty decent, and HOW COOL is it that a bunch of fourteen-year-olds are getting to play at Mayfest? AND, they had them at a different time slot at first, but the boys had an orchestra concert that night so the Mayfest folks actually re-arranged the schedule so Firelane could play!

and, ahem, I googled and found my brother's blog. I'm sure he doesn't want me to know he has one. I commented, but now I'll leave him alone. Well, after I see if he responds, that is.

So, new plan on the contest.
You have until Sunday to place your guesses.
As you already know, it's in the Eastern Hemisphere.
It's also in a country that I almost went to once and didn't and then decided I didn't really want to go ever (though clearly I've changed my mind).
Pearl Jam is playing there.

winner gets um, a mix cd? a bologna sandwich? a painting? perhaps you should name your prize when you answer. though, of course, your prize has to be in the price range of a mix cd or a bologna sandwich (home-made).

firelane

aah! check ~this~ out!

see, 515pm on Saturday? THAT'S the band of my little brother Harvey. They're playing at Mayfest, how exciting is that?!? I will be in town then, so I'll get to see him. I'm so so excited! Their band is actually pretty decent, and HOW COOL is it that a bunch of fourteen-year-olds are getting to play at Mayfest? AND, they had them at a different time slot at first, but the boys had an orchestra concert that night so the Mayfest folks actually re-arranged the schedule so Firelane could play!

and, ahem, I googled and found my brother's blog. I'm sure he doesn't want me to know he has one. I commented, but now I'll leave him alone. Well, after I see if he responds, that is.

So, new plan on the contest.
You have until Sunday to place your guesses.
As you already know, it's in the Eastern Hemisphere.
It's also in a country that I almost went to once and didn't and then decided I didn't really want to go ever (though clearly I've changed my mind).
Pearl Jam is playing there.

winner gets um, a mix cd? a bologna sandwich? a painting? perhaps you should name your prize when you answer. though, of course, your prize has to be in the price range of a mix cd or a bologna sandwich (home-made).

see, I told you I was going to paint it.

ranunculus bulbosus, orange.

ranunculus

so, I'm in walmart last night on my many-errand trip in prep for otto's parents coming into town, and I found these beauties! they aren't very good pictures, I'm sure I'll take more this weekend. AND I'll be painting them. These might be my new favorite flower (okay, like tied for first with two other flowers, but whatever. ) their name means "little frog" in Latin, and their "flower meaning" is radiant charm. and I l-o-v-e them.

Also, antibiotics, ho! I'm trying another one now. I kind of freaked out yesterday afternoon because my brain wasn't working. The convo went like this:

nurse-type lady: your culture came back negative, no strep, no staph--
me: oh, good.
nurse-type lady: so I need a phone number for a pharmacy to call in your antibiotic.
me: it should be in my chart, it’s target brier creek.
nurse-type lady (rudely): well, ma’am, it’s not in here, so if you could just give me the number--
me (as politely as I can muster): well, I’m outside because I get very poor reception in the building (as you already know because you had to wait for me to come outside so I could hear you and if you’d just called my work number as indicated on my chart I could look up the pharmacy number for it) but if you want I could call you right back with the number. Are you sure it’s not in my chart? You’ve called in at least a dozen things for me.
nurse-type lady: silence…oh, here it is.
me: oh, good. Wait, hey, so, the culture came back negative?
nurse-type lady (annoyed): mmm-hmm.
me: So I don’t have any bacteria in my nose? (pause) Because if I don’t have bacteria then why are you giving me an antibiotic? I mean, aren’t those only supposed to be for infections? Do I not have a sinus infection.
nurse-type lady: All I know is your culture came back negative.
me: pause. pause-pause-pause. sniffle. pause. Um, oh…well, um, I assume Dr. S knows what he’s doing, so, um, call it in…and hopefully it will make me better...thanks.

riiiight.

I called my mom on the way home, and –duh!—it just means that I have a bacteria they didn’t test for. Yeesh. Brain. Not. Functioning. I’m not feeling much better yet, but I haven’t even been on them for a full day, so hopefully—HOPEFULLY—this weekend won’t be a nightmare. Because there’s this race thing and a family thing and yikes! Enjoy your Friday! And the flowers!

may the fourth.

wow.

that's nerdy and a half. 

wood and string.

this is my new cabinet!!! in my home!!! I love love love it. I put the two plates in (I actually measured them before I bought it to make sure they'd fit) but I think I'm adding more.

And here's Gobi and Hazel getting ready to play tug-of-war with the string the cabinet-movers used for holding the cabinet in or something. When they brought the string in with the cabinet they saw how much the kitties liked it and left it for them.

You can't see Hazel in this pic, but she's there on the other end of the string! They're so silly.

thank goodness it's thursday which means it's almost friday which means it's almost the weekend. it's a pity I'm still sick, but hopefully my doc will call in more medicine. they should have the culture back today. oh, and ps, having a culture of your sinus cavity taken is super weird. especially if you opt not to be numbed because the numbing stuff makes your throat hurt. just incase you ever need to know...

so much time and so little to do.

wait a minute. strike that. reverse it.

okay, so we’re going to backpedal just a little.

My KayDee bragging…we raised over $1200 for PCA-NC with those raffle tickets we sold, and with the rest of the group we raised just over $1600. Yahoo! I got to do a check presentation in front of all the guests (that’s Amy Horton helping me) and we ran the champagne bar. Go us!

Next, the hike was last Friday. It would have been more fun if I felt better. But we went to even more places than last time—and this time we took video! In Sadlacks, the sketchiest of the sketchy bars, a guy complained to me that this place was pretty lame. I told him it would be less lame after he left, and then flashed my pearly whites at him! People just stacked the beers on the table at one bar, and Otto told some very loud stories. I had fun until the last bar, which we were at for an hour and a half. I wanted to leave after twenty minutes. I was the driver, and I didn’t feel very good.

On Saturday morning we toured this.

CBC was de-lish! The tour was entertaining and ABSOLUTELY made me want to pair up with a few of my ChE buddies and start a brewery. I’ll have to either earn a business degree or find someone to do my business stuff for me, but all in all I think it’s a fine plan. It was a very small brewery, and I think that’s what I liked best. Maybe the size of high school gym without the bleachers, maybe smaller. PLUS, there was free beer before and after—yippee! As the soberest I was, again, the driver. I dropped the boys (Greg and Erik and Otto) off at the Pulp and Paper Picnic and went home to nap and recuperate before going out for sushi.

I picked the guys up in Raleigh a few hours later. Off to sushi we went! Erik was *ahem* not well enough to join us, so he slept in the car while we had our meal. The three of us polished off eight rolls and got a bunch of ~wow!~ looks from our waiter and the sushi chefs. We asked the waiter why everyone was making such a big deal, and he said that normally a party of six would eat as much as we just ate. Apparently that means we’re “comfortable” with one another. Hmm. I also saw the ugliest hairdo EVER. I tried to be subtle and take a picture, but it just wouldn’t happen. So, um, just picture this. A woman in her late thirties/early forties in cute-but-too-young-for-her-clothes, with blonde just below the chin hair. And then with a fringe of dark brown hair flipping out underneath. So a blonde bob with a brown flip at the bottom. yeeech. I hope my friends would tell me if my hair ever looked that bad/amusing. Anyhoo.

and now to the finale. the sinusitis chronicus.

okay, that's not really the name, but it sounds cooler than chronic sinusitis. sigh. I have been sick for DAAAAYs. and to make the sickness even better...on Monday I went to the doctor because I had been feeling so yuck for the past eleven days. The day before I was useless. I spent most of it trying to sleep, and I woke up so many times! I tried to sleep propped up, but even that didn't help. And my throat hurt but my nose was clogged and pressurized, so breathing through my mouth was painful too. You get the idea. So, my doctor decides that we'll give me a medrol pack and ketek, a new antibiotic, and by 7pm that day I've improved markedly. Then it's 1030pm, and I'm wearing a camisole with a long sleeved shirt over it, and I get warm while cleaning the kitchen so I remove the long sleeved shirt and notice that it looks like someone has taken a semi-faded blue marker and drawn over all of the veins on my chest, shoulders, neck and even the inside of my arm. I kind of freaked out. I called my doc. And apparently that means those veins weren't returning blood to my heart correctly. Yikes! I'm now off the ketek but still on the steroids. Which is good, because as tony the tiger would say, they're grrreat!

Also, some tidbits.
The new PEARL JAM is out! Go get a copy for $10 at target! mmmmm good!
Gobi and Hazel were supercute last night--pictures to follow!
Uno's Pizza can still make Chicken Fajita Pizza--you just have to ask!
Friday is Cinco de Mayo!!! Ole!

and, my cabinet arrived on Monday! what all should I put in it? I never use my china (see above) so I'm reluctant to unpack it all (I'll use it someday though). What about just putting a couple of plates leaving up with cups and saucers in front on the top shelf? Or buying some pretty depression glass to display? And putting picture frames on the second shelf? The third has our rarer pint glasses and our not-often-used glasses, like shot glasses. Hmm...so! excited! I'll put pix up soon--better ones that before!