An Unexpected Trip

On Wednesday (the 11th), I got to take an unexpected trip . . . to the Emergency Room.  It's kind of a long story and I don't know exactly how it all went down, but it went something like this:

I had training that morning for school after less than four hours of sleep.  Must get used to new schedule & soon!  Training got out early, so I went home to eat a lunch of leftover salad from the night before.  Around 3:30, I drove to the teacher's store to buy some supplies and dropped them off at school.  I stayed at school for all of ten minutes, went to the restroom, and drove down the street to meet some friends for dinner and drinks.

It's been so hot in Dallas lately.  We are on our 14th consecutive day of 100+ degree temps.  By the time I got to the restaurant, I was warm and fanning myself with a menu.  To help with the heat, I ordered a yummy frozen Bellini which I had one sip of while my friends and I were waiting on an appetizer.  As we were chatting, my stomach rumbled and I excused myself to the bathroom.  TMI: I had a little diarrhea, and as I washed my hands, I noticed my eyes were still red from that morning.  I was still warm and looking forward to that Bellini cooling me off some.  After I sat down, it hit me that I didn't feel too good and told my friends.  One friend said that my face looked a little swollen and asked if I needed to just go home.  I debated & told her that I probably should.  As I fumbled to get my credit card out of my wallet, I had to ask if they would pay for my drink and I'd pay them back the next time.  When they said it wasn't a problem, I then said I needed to go to the restroom first and asked one of them to walk me.

By the time I got to the ladies room, I was seeing stars and not well at all.  I had more bathroom issues and began pouring sweat.  I have never sweat so much in my life.  Very quickly, my hair was wet, the floor was wet, my clothes were wet . . . everything was soaked.  My friend went to get my purse and tell our other friend what was happening.  I asked her to find some Benadryl when she left the restroom, thinking I may be having an allergic reaction.

Everything gets pretty blurry from here.  I stayed in the bathroom stall for what seemed like forever.  My friends came in to check on me, bring me water, help me clip up my wet hair, hand me towels for my neck.  No matter what I did, I couldn't get comfortable and could not quit sweating.  Itchy spots behind my left ear and the back of my head started, so I knew the hives were taking over my skin.  After I had been alone for a while, I heard a voice say, "Ma'am, are you okay?"  Quickly telling her that I needed Benadryl, she (who I believe was a waitress) left to get a manager.  For legal reasons, they couldn't give me any medicine.  That's fine - just let me die here instead.

My friends returned to the restroom after again what seemed like forever, ready to drive me home.  They called Todd to let him know what was happening, and told them they'd be bringing me home.  As things got to the point where we should leave, I told my friends that I couldn't make it, and finally asked them to call 911.  I immediately stripped off my wedding ring and asked my friend to take care of it for me.  I didn't want it stuck on my finger or getting stolen along the way.

Not long after, I am dripping wet in a bathroom stall with a few strange men dressed as paramedics.  Apparently, this is when I pass out.  They get an IV in my arm, check my blood pressure (which had tanked), and prepare me for take off.  I was worried that I might get sick everywhere & tried to delay our departure as much as I could.  Finally, the lead EMT said, "Kristin, we HAVE to go."  I remember that shaking me up a bit, so with his help, I tried to stand up.

Well, keep in mind that I had been sweating profusely.  My clothing was soaked completely through.  Like an old pro, this former drunk sorority girl at a fun fraternity party wobbly stood up and stripped off my pants using my feet.  The poor EMT said, "Are you trying to take off your jeans?"  I confirmed that and he told me to hurry.  They then got me on a stretcher, covered me up, secured my IV line, and placed oxygen on me.  So during Wednesday night dinner service, my wet-rat, half-naked self was wheeled out of ladies room, through the restaurant, and into the ambulance.  In my altered state, I do remember hoping and praying and squeezing my eyes tightly closed in case any of my students or someone I might know happened to be witnessing this dinnertime disaster of mine.  As far as I know, I am in the clear from my adoring fans being traumatized by it all (well, other than my two friends and paramedics!).

A short time after we got into the ambulance, I began to come to a bit thanks to the three paramedics who were all working on me at once.  I remember looking up to the IV bag and noticing that it was about 75% emptied already.  My finger was pricked and blood sugars tested.  I continually tried to ask to which hospital I was being transported, but either they were ignoring me or couldn't hear/understand me.  They finally told me they were rushing me to the nearest hospital.  I was wishing that one of my friends was in the ambulance with us, but honestly, there wouldn't have been any room.  As soon as he noticed I was responding more, the lead medic said, "Well, it was a bit tight in that bathroom stall with you."  I responded, "

Well, to wrap this long story up soon, I got into the ER, got poked & prodded some more, and finally began to stabilize and feel a bit more coherent.  I was hoping my friends could come back, but they never did.  Not sure if they didn't want to or weren't allowed.  Todd arrived soon after that, and I felt awful that he had to rush across town to deal with me like this.  I asked him to go get my friends, but he said they wouldn't let them back.  I was so thankful for all they did, but told Todd they didn't need to wait around unless they just really had nothing better to do.  Not long after, my mom arrived.  Nothing like a gathering for the wet-headed.  It was nice having my mom the nurse there just in case.

After my blood pressure came up a bit (which sounds weird for me to say since I have high bp), my EKG was normal, the redness and swelling of my face and skin decreased, and my oxygen levels were up, I was finally released to go home.  So . . . with all of my pride, I had my amazing husband tie up the back of my hospital gown, gather my wet belongings, help me put on my flip flops, place my wedding ring back on my finger, and walk me to the car to head home.

Since Wednesday, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what triggered this attack.  Nothing makes sense.  My next plan is to see an allergist/immunologist to see what exactly it is I'm allergic to now.  Until then, I am a member of the Benadryl-carrying club and both Todd and my work team know how to help me if (God forbid) it ever happens again.

Most of all I learned that my friends, Amie and Megan, are real troopers and true friends.  Without their help, I don't know what would have happened.  In fact, I don't even want to think about it.  Thanks, guys.  I owe you more than another happy hour.

Georgia Trip

July has been such a busy month!  Take a restroom break, get a snack & drink, and join me for a little tour.

About a week after our July 4th weekend in East Texas, Todd and I packed up the car and drove to Georgia.  We had family business to attend to as well as many friends to see (and for me to meet!).  We headed first to Mississippi, where our GPS told us we were in the middle of absolutely nowhere.  It was kinda right.

 

We stayed overnight with friends in Saltillo, Mississippi (small suburb of Tupelo).  Brent, a high school friend of Todd's (who was also a groomsman), and his wife Michele opened their home to us for the night.  They have four precious children that were just as hospitable and fun.  It was fun for us to meet the kids and for me to meet Michele for the first time.  Unfortunately, I didn't take ANY photos while there.  :(

The next morning, we were up and out the door to finish our drive to Atlanta.  Our first stop was to visit my mother in-law, who is not well.  Unfortunately, her condition continues to deteriorate, and it was a somewhat difficult visit.  Dealing with her affairs was one of our prime purposes of going to GA, yet we still found time to see friends, relax, and have a little fun.

Spending time with my brother in-law, Tim, was nice because we rarely get to see one another.  There is never enough time to visit with everyone when traveling, but we did get to see Tim several times.  He loves having his picture taken as much as his brother.

We saw the Tuckers, who were Todd's next door neighbors growing up.  They were such sweet people & have an amazing garden!

We got the chance to spend just a little time with another friend, Daryl, and his wife and children.  We played with their precious red-headed kids, chatted, the boys had some 40s, and the girls took care of some wine.

Thankfully we were able to take Cheryl, a longtime friend of my MIL's, to dinner and spend time catching up with her.  She's such a neat lady.

Visiting Bill, Kerri & kids in Peachtree City (or "The Bubble" as we called it) was a great time, too.  Relaxing, swimming, playing with their dog, riding golf carts (which is how they get around there), hitting the local Walmart (which had golf cart parking!), eating and partying was basically what we did.  We truly needed the down time.

We went to a local Farmer's Market (which is when my camera settings got thrown off & I didn't know it, so pretend these pics aren't blurry!).

 We crashed a birthday party with Bill & Kerri.

I lost my virginity to The Varsity and Trader Joe's . . . and it was worth it!

We spent time with one of my longest time best friends, Kim, who lives about an hour outside of Atlanta.  We've been friends for over 35 years!

We also spent time with Kim's husband (Neil) and their daughter (Charlotte) and their dogs Ralph and Herman (shown).

We had lunch with Kim's mom, Judy, and went out on Lake Lanier for a short time in between storms.

  

Best thing of all is that Todd and I learned, after being together almost seven years, that we travel really well together and have some amazing family and friends.  For that, we are blessed.

Next stop on our tour of July . . . San Francisco!  Don't worry, that trip will be broken down into daily posts!

July 4th Weekend

We took an overnight trip to visit Todd's cousin and his family this weekend, and this time the dogs went with us.  This was their first overnight trip together, so we weren't sure what to expect.  After the initial first few hours of wild excitement by our dogs and Michael & Cathy's boys, things went really well.

Best thing of all . . . the dogs are RACKED today.  It may take them a couple of days to recover.  :)

HOME Work

My mom came over today, and we got to work!  I swear we worked for about seven hours, and I am wiped out now.  However, all of the work was worth it.

Project #1: Reupholstering chairs. 

These lovely flamestitch chairs are great, but unfortunate looking, chairs.  We love to sit in them during the winter and enjoy a warm fire.  Sometimes we chat, sometimes we stare, but this is a comfy place.  Mom and I worked on patterns today, and now we need to shop for fabric.

 

As you can see the chenille throw has a purpose.  Enter Exhibit B - Steve was quite a busy puppy.

Project #2: Removing extra slats from blinds.

Let me preface this project by telling you one very important thing I learned today.  Never believe your mother when she says, "Let me show you this real quick.  It's easy"  (My mom now agrees with that statement.)

As we were getting ready to work on Project #3, my mom noticed that the wood blinds in our den had several extra slats that could be removed.  So (since it would be "real quick"), we began cutting strings and all sorts of things.  Two hours later - for two blinds - we were finished.  Real quick my ass.

They do look better now, but if you come in to my home and try to inspect them, I will swat you away like a runaway fly.  :)

Project #3: Hanging curtain rod and curtains in den.

This I was excited about getting done!  About six weeks ago, Target had window treatments on sale & I was in a shopping mood.  I found awesome lined panels on sale.  They are originally $30/pair, but they were mismarked for only $19.99!  Score!  With May sucking and Todd swamped with grad school work, they've just been sitting.  And waiting.  And sitting and waiting some more. 

Well, today the new rod and curtains were finally hung and they are awesome!!  (You can also see the difference from the pic of the blinds above.)

Before:   

After: 

I loooove it!  So much better!!!  The red is actually deeper, but my excited photographing didn't encourage me to set my camera up first.


Project #3: Rearranging some things.

When you first walk into our home, you see straight into the den and through a huge (now-curtained) window to the back patio.  Below the window were two huge crates for our two huge dogs.  Again, see the picture from Project #2. 

We moved the crates into our (now very informal) front room, which could serve as a formal living and dining room if we were formal kinda people.  You'll see in the pics that we draped the crates with blankets and added some decor on top to help a bit.  (Ignore the broken pendulum on the clock that needs to be fixed, the papers that Todd is sorting through on the table, and the double lamps that we need to figure out!)

Then we moved an ottoman from the front room and a chair from the guest room into the den.  I love repurposing things in the home!  Things in the den look more open, and I think we'll like it since we spend more time in there than any other room in the house.

After from the front door:

 

From the corner of the den:

The curtains and rearranging of things have made a huge difference to us.  Luckily Todd liked it, too, as he was holed-up in his office working on a mid-term and came out to a new look!

Steve wasn't too interested in it all, but he would get off the couch every now & then and stick his nose into our business.

Next projects: Redecorating the guest room (paint, linens, furniture, etc.), cornices for the windows in the front room, picking up & cleaning out the front room, and cleaning and organizing my closet and a couple of other closets in the house.  Here I go!

Well, Hello Nifty Fifty!

I decided that I *needed* a new camera lens, so I opted to start simple and got the "nifty fifty," a 50mm f/1.8 Canon lens.  So far, I love it!!  It's taking a bit to get used to it, but I'm getting it.  Thanks to the big dogs and the cat, I'm getting some practice.  :)

What's best is that I didn't pay a penny for it!  Between MySurvey rewards and my Swagbucks, I've been getting all sorts of free stuff.  I'm loving it!

Steve, King of Sad Eyes:

Mindy, The Old & Scrappy Lady:

Pippin, the Sweet Duchess Lady Girlfriend:

If you happen to follow my 365 blog, you'll notice that it pretty much faded away in April  That's the month that work kills me, and honestly, between losing my grandmother and Mackey - May sucked.  Just so I don't fall off the photo bandwagon, I am in the process of setting up a blog simply for photography.  I'll post photos and post-processing and stuff in between.  If you want to check it out, I'll keep you posted . . .