I wish there was a better way to say "yuck"
So that flu I thought I caught? Well, it's not the flu types they are testing for this year, but it is SOMETHING nasty. I got so sick I spent Wednesday night in the ER with Mom and Sis. I got so dizzy and nauseated that I couldn't get back up the stairs to my room, and ended up a crying, sweating, shivering mess lying on the floor by the front door. All the kitties came up to me obviously thinking that it was weird that I was lying there. I was able to get up long enough to drag myself to Sis's car and she drove me to one of the nearby hospitals that don't threaten to sue you before you leave the ER.
The nurse was nice and very good (she was able to get an IV in my hand on the first try, which is difficult). The doctor was FANTASTIC. He saw Sis when she caught West Nile earlier this fall. He was very thorough, listened to what I wanted/needed, ran a ton of tests, and unfortunately came up empty on a definitive diagnosis. I'm guessing it's some kind of stomach flu, since I have all of the normal flu symptoms--fever, headache, body aches--but also being unable to either keep food down, or keep food in (if you get my drift). Whatever it is, I really kind of hope that the asshole who left the germs for me in the movie theater is suffering just as much. I left the ER with prescriptions for a ton of different meds: tamiflu, antibiotics, pain meds, nausea meds, and directions to take all of them plus tylenol and advil.
It's been 7 days since I started exhibiting symptoms and I'm still having the same symptoms. Blech. I feel constantly wrung out and exhausted. Being up and on the computer to type this is one of the handful of times I've been able to do so in the last week.
I did, however, rally enough last night to finally watch The Dark Knight Rises Holy CRAP that's an excellent movie. I love that Nolan brought back previous characters. I didn't foresee the actual bad guy until one scene or so before the reveal. The ending was fantastic, leaving it open-ended. I actually didn't mind Anne Hathaway as much as I thought I would. I liked her costume, where the ears were actually part of the mask so they had a purpose. I came away very pleased with the whole thing and very glad I was able to get downstairs to watch it on the big TV. It wouldn't have been the same if I'd watched it on my tiny TV in my room.
I'm still missing Cole in random times. I'll see Bob, who is also black, and think it's Cole sitting there. I was bringing in groceries last week (prior to the death blarg) and was automatically vigilant in making sure he didn't escape, even though he wasn't there to escape--he seriously loved breaking out and running around like an outside kitty. It's getting better, but Christmas is going to be hard, since we've left his stocking on the mantle along with the others. We're going to put a mouse in the stocking like everyone else's, but we have to figure out what to do with that mouse afterwards. Next year, that stocking goes on our tree with the rest of the stockings for our departed kitties.
We were planning to go to Christmas Eve Mass, but between Mom's continuing coughing from the bronchitis she had in November, and my absolute lethargy, we're going to have to skip it again this year. I'm bummed, but I know God understands. Mom at least has tomorrow and Christmas off, though she has to work the 26th. We have decided that the Christmas meal this year will be kind of Texas-y: brisket, cornbread, green beans (the southern way with bacon), corn, mashed potatoes, etc. We would have done a honey ham, but Sis doesn't eat ham, so we'd just end up with a ton of ham that only Mom and I could eat, which would be dumb. So Brisket!! WOO!
Oh! I completely forgot to mention that Uncle Paul visited last Sunday. He did three services at his church (he's a priest), then hopped on a plane to fly down here, and was then leaving early the next morning to get back for work at the university where he's still a professor. It was good to see him. I think the last time we saw him was for my cousin Beth's wedding in 2004. It was a little awkward for a few minutes, but we kind of settled into a groove. I asked him about the knuckle ball and it's mechanics (because the man seriously knows EVERYTHING about baseball), and Mom and Sis regaled him with their accomplishments in school and work. I was able to butt in with, "Well, I got an A in my class. So, yay?" We ate good food at a local restaurant, and parted ways.
We got our presents from them the day before in the mail. As always, my aunt gave me two articles of clothing three sizes too small (I can't seem to get her to understand that I wear a 2-3x in shirts) that I then immediately re-gifted to Mom because they fit her, and a book that she thought I'd enjoy. At least the book is one that I'm interested in, unlike the horrible selections she's sent me in years past. I really wish she'd just get stuff off my Amazon list, but she's still thinking of me, and that's really nice. Along with our gifts, she sent along the traditional Grandmom Fruitcake Cookies. However, she always misses the most essential ingredient: bourbon. Otherwise they're dry and kinda yucky. But add some good Kentucky Bourbon, and they're yummy.
Mom, Sis and I made our traditional holiday treats a couple of weeks ago. We make bourbon balls (which include corn syrup, ground nilla wafers, and bourbon, rolled into balls and then coated in powdered sugar), and made-from-scratch sugar cookies. We were going to make enough to send back with Uncle Paul, but we ate them all before we could pack some up. Oh well. ;)
I wish everyone a good holiday, whatever you're celebrating.
The nurse was nice and very good (she was able to get an IV in my hand on the first try, which is difficult). The doctor was FANTASTIC. He saw Sis when she caught West Nile earlier this fall. He was very thorough, listened to what I wanted/needed, ran a ton of tests, and unfortunately came up empty on a definitive diagnosis. I'm guessing it's some kind of stomach flu, since I have all of the normal flu symptoms--fever, headache, body aches--but also being unable to either keep food down, or keep food in (if you get my drift). Whatever it is, I really kind of hope that the asshole who left the germs for me in the movie theater is suffering just as much. I left the ER with prescriptions for a ton of different meds: tamiflu, antibiotics, pain meds, nausea meds, and directions to take all of them plus tylenol and advil.
It's been 7 days since I started exhibiting symptoms and I'm still having the same symptoms. Blech. I feel constantly wrung out and exhausted. Being up and on the computer to type this is one of the handful of times I've been able to do so in the last week.
I did, however, rally enough last night to finally watch The Dark Knight Rises Holy CRAP that's an excellent movie. I love that Nolan brought back previous characters. I didn't foresee the actual bad guy until one scene or so before the reveal. The ending was fantastic, leaving it open-ended. I actually didn't mind Anne Hathaway as much as I thought I would. I liked her costume, where the ears were actually part of the mask so they had a purpose. I came away very pleased with the whole thing and very glad I was able to get downstairs to watch it on the big TV. It wouldn't have been the same if I'd watched it on my tiny TV in my room.
I'm still missing Cole in random times. I'll see Bob, who is also black, and think it's Cole sitting there. I was bringing in groceries last week (prior to the death blarg) and was automatically vigilant in making sure he didn't escape, even though he wasn't there to escape--he seriously loved breaking out and running around like an outside kitty. It's getting better, but Christmas is going to be hard, since we've left his stocking on the mantle along with the others. We're going to put a mouse in the stocking like everyone else's, but we have to figure out what to do with that mouse afterwards. Next year, that stocking goes on our tree with the rest of the stockings for our departed kitties.
We were planning to go to Christmas Eve Mass, but between Mom's continuing coughing from the bronchitis she had in November, and my absolute lethargy, we're going to have to skip it again this year. I'm bummed, but I know God understands. Mom at least has tomorrow and Christmas off, though she has to work the 26th. We have decided that the Christmas meal this year will be kind of Texas-y: brisket, cornbread, green beans (the southern way with bacon), corn, mashed potatoes, etc. We would have done a honey ham, but Sis doesn't eat ham, so we'd just end up with a ton of ham that only Mom and I could eat, which would be dumb. So Brisket!! WOO!
Oh! I completely forgot to mention that Uncle Paul visited last Sunday. He did three services at his church (he's a priest), then hopped on a plane to fly down here, and was then leaving early the next morning to get back for work at the university where he's still a professor. It was good to see him. I think the last time we saw him was for my cousin Beth's wedding in 2004. It was a little awkward for a few minutes, but we kind of settled into a groove. I asked him about the knuckle ball and it's mechanics (because the man seriously knows EVERYTHING about baseball), and Mom and Sis regaled him with their accomplishments in school and work. I was able to butt in with, "Well, I got an A in my class. So, yay?" We ate good food at a local restaurant, and parted ways.
We got our presents from them the day before in the mail. As always, my aunt gave me two articles of clothing three sizes too small (I can't seem to get her to understand that I wear a 2-3x in shirts) that I then immediately re-gifted to Mom because they fit her, and a book that she thought I'd enjoy. At least the book is one that I'm interested in, unlike the horrible selections she's sent me in years past. I really wish she'd just get stuff off my Amazon list, but she's still thinking of me, and that's really nice. Along with our gifts, she sent along the traditional Grandmom Fruitcake Cookies. However, she always misses the most essential ingredient: bourbon. Otherwise they're dry and kinda yucky. But add some good Kentucky Bourbon, and they're yummy.
Mom, Sis and I made our traditional holiday treats a couple of weeks ago. We make bourbon balls (which include corn syrup, ground nilla wafers, and bourbon, rolled into balls and then coated in powdered sugar), and made-from-scratch sugar cookies. We were going to make enough to send back with Uncle Paul, but we ate them all before we could pack some up. Oh well. ;)
I wish everyone a good holiday, whatever you're celebrating.