doahleigh - Holy Waste of Teabags!

Most people say they can’t button their pants after the holidays. I had the opposite problem this year. The bulk of our Christmas Marathon ran from Saturday through Tuesday, and exactly from Saturday to Tuesday my stomach was having problems, rendering me nearly appetiteless. I ate next to nothing on Saturday, but on Sunday my upset stomach was joined by undeniable hunger pangs. So I ate a huge piece of lasagna, three hunks of garlic bread and a piece of cherry pie. Bad idea. That night I woke up and found my way to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth. I never actually vomited, but I did sit awake on B’s mom’s couch for a few hours because laying down made it worse.

We ended up leaving for GR earlier than planned on Monday so I could rest at home before continuing the marathon that night. I was feeling a little better that evening and made the mistake of eating a meatball and some spinach dip. I went home sick that night too. Same thing on Tuesday: I thought I was all better by the time my family congregated at my dad’s for Christmas pizza and presents. Yeah you guessed it, I ate TWO pieces of greasy pizza and drank a large glass of Pepsi. My tummy was not happy with me. You’d think I’d learn…

I never did throw anything up (glad you know that?), but over four days I ate the equivalent of maybe two meals, so my pants practically slid off me at work yesterday. I was thinking it was a Christmas miracle: surely I lost 10 pounds at least! But then I stepped onto my brand new shiny bathroom scale (thanks Brandy!) and realized I’m actually 10 pounds heavier than my comfortable “x” weight. I was pretty sure the scale was broken, but Brad assures me it’s accurate for him.

Well what the hell? is all I can say to that.

I could have come here after my week-long absence and regaled you with tales of my wonderful family and my spectacular gifts, but instead I chose to tell the detailed story of yet another holiday illness. Aren’t you happy you stopped by?

P.S. Brad got me both Female Chauvinist Pigs and Bitch magazine. See here for why that rocks.

On my wishlist, I have a few books and magazines that are related to feminism. Well holy hell you’d think that was some kind of dirty word! First my dad, who isn’t usually like this, said “Full Frontal Feminism? Bust magazine? Is there a side to you I don’t know about?”

Um, you know I’m a feminist right? Then no, there’s not.

The part that really bothered me though was this portion of the conversation:

Him: Bitch magazine? Couldn’t they have picked something a little softer?
Me: Why does it have to be softer? To make you more comfortable?
Him: Well what’s the male equivalent? Should I start a magazine called Prick?
Me: I hardly think that’s the male equivalent of the word “bitch” Dad.

And when he shared my printed wishlist with my grandparents who asked for ideas, he didn’t give them the first page (which contained the books and magazines). I guess to shield them from the horror and filth that is feminism.

Then a couple days ago, I overheard someone else say, while looking at the list, “I’m definitely not getting her something called Bitch!” I hope she does though. Hey, if you’re reading… it’s actually a pretty good magazine!

Honestly, both of these people were saying these things in jest, and I accepted it as such, but I was caught off guard because I truly didn’t think anything of it when I added them to my list. I mean, I think I added Bitch the same time I added the crock pot and the brown heels.

Oh well, I’ll have to buy Ms. for myself I guess!

At McDonald’s today (ew gross, I know, it was) I was standing by the counter waiting for my order to come up when the guy in front of me suddenly exclaimed, in the direction of the employee at the register, “Wow that fry thing is cool!”

We all kind of quietly ignored him.

“It like, scoops them up and gets them right in the box! That’s amazing!”

Quietly ignore.

“That fry scoop thing—that’s so cool!”

Finally the cashier responded, “Oh, the fry scoop. Yeah, um, pretty neat huh?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The poor guy just liked the McDonald’s fry scoop and he wanted to tell someone about it, and I laughed at him. But it was so funny. My god, he was frickin’ fascinated with that fry scoop!

Last year during the holidays, we had numerous parties to attend and much driving back and forth to do between our two hometowns. This year it’s looking much the same, only I don’t get nearly as much time off work, so not only are there many parties to attend, there is also much work to squeeze in between those parties. This year, however, we’ve decided to call the whirlwind our “Christmas Marathon” and we’re actually quite looking forward to it. I’ve already been to my work party (Friday) and one party with my (very) extended family (Saturday), and things are just getting started. Here is how the next couple weeks will go:

12/18
Department’s Christmas lunch during work

12/19
All day: work
Evening: get together with friends

12/20-12/21
Work

12/22
Noon: Christmas party with my dad’s side, extended family

12/23
Morning: drive to Jackson
Noon: Christmas party with B’s dad’s side
Evening: B’s work party

12/24
Morning: Christmas with B’s mom and stepdad
Afternoon: drive back to GR
Evening: Christmas party with my mom’s side, extended family

12/25
Morning: Christmas with my mom’s side, immediate family
Afternoon: Christmas with my dad’s side, immediate family

12/26-12/28
Work

12/29
Morning: drive to Jackson?
Evening: holiday party with B’s friends?

12/30
Relax (I hope)!

12/31
Find something to do for New Year’s Eve. It seems we always struggle with making plans for this night.

1/1
Sleep in hardcore.

1/2
Back to work forever.

It actually doesn’t look as busy as last year, which is nice. But you’ll notice that nowhere in that plan does it say “Brad and Shannon exchange gifts quietly and peacefully.” We don’t even know when we’ll have time to do our own personal Christmas together, and that part makes me a little sad. Mostly though I’m so happy to have so many people to celebrate the holiday with that it makes up for it. We’ll fit our own little party in somewhere, even if we have to celebrate Christmas on New Year’s Eve. Hey, we may have nothing else going on!

Awhile ago, back when I was in danger of being jobless and homeless, I thought about starting an Etsy shop to try to sell some of my crafts, namely my custom hand-stitched embroidery. Soon after I added some items, I went through the whirlwind of moving and then finding and starting a new job. And school. So, well, I kind of forgot about my Etsy shop. When I logged in a couple weeks ago I realized that all my listings had expired.

Today I finally went in there and clicked “renew” on all—a whopping four—of my listings, and then I figured I better at least let someone one know this thing exists, otherwise what good is it? All I really offer is custom orders, so I don’t anticipate selling much, but it’s worth putting out there anyway because you never know.

So if you’re ever in the market for some hand-stitched custom embroidery, or know someone who is, you should visit my shop. Or, you know, just email me. Whatever.

Last night I went to my last class this semester. I turned in my big ol’ research paper, sat through some chatter, and was home in time for America’s Next Top Model. That was the first time I’ve watched the airing on Wednesday night, rather than the replay on Sunday, all season. And of course it happened to be the finale, a finale in which stupid Saleisha won. She’s an okay gal, just not who I wanted to see come out on top. Really? Saleisha? That’s your big winner? Boo.

I couldn’t wait for that last class to be over because it meant freedom! A return to normalcy! For the last few weeks I’ve been saying “after the 12th” about everything:

When can we hang out again? After the 12th.
When will you have time to see my new dog? After the 12th.
When will you stop being so cranky? After the 12th.
When can we spend some “quality time” together again, ifyouknowwhatImsayin? After the 12th!

I thought I would let a big sigh of relief and feel normal again after the 12th, but here it is, after the 12th, and I still feel frazzled. I have plans almost every day through Christmas, and on the few days without plans I have a long To Do list to fill the time. The way things look right now, it may be the new year before I can relax. Or at least let my brain relax. There’s a big difference between having a few hours to watch mindless television in between the busyness, and being able to actually stop for a minute because, at least for now, you don’t have a million things to plan or do or think about.

Don’t get my wrong, I’m excited for most of the plans I have—the parties, the dinners, the Christmas shopping—but I’m also excited to be able to turn off my brain for a little bit. Eventually.

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget to show off my present from Brad. I had to get the pictures off my camera first, and sometimes I put that off for weeks! So here it is:

Need a closer look?

It’s a picture of us! Made out of lego pieces! See:

Isn’t that so frickin’ cool? He came up with the idea all on his own, did some fancy computer stuff, ordered all the pieces, then put each one meticulously in place. It might be a little hard to tell in the pictures, but when you hang it on a wall and step back, it really looks like us! Blur your eyes a little on the top one. Does it look like this:

I know, you’re amazed. I am too.

The rest of my birthday was fun too. After presents and lunch we went to a couple used book stores where Brad bought me some new reading material. Then we stopped at the new Schuler Books downtown where we browsed and drank a chai latte. Unfortunately the next couple hours were spent walking around a crowded grocery store and cleaning up the apartment in preparation for company that night. But after that unfun part, we met a bunch of people for dinner where I got a Chi flat iron from my siblings, mom and Brad. I also had an amazing dish–bowtie pasta with grilled chicken, brocolli and a gorgonzola cream sauce–and delicious tiramisu.

After dinner we all went back to our place where we intended to play games, but were instead entertained by ridiculous conversations about gay stereotypes and whether or not San Diego is on the coast. It was a really great birthday, and it’s times like those that I’m so glad I moved back to GR.

P.S. Don’t my presents ROCK!

Friday I had my doctor appointment. I didn’t find out anything useful about my headaches because “headaches can be caused by so many different things” and it’s hard to even know what’s causing them or how to make them stop. She did assure me that there’s nothing wrong with me, but advised keeping a “headache journal” to see if any patterns emerge. I considered the idea for a moment but quickly realized it was pointless. A journal that reads…

Day 1: headache
Day 2: headache
Day 3: headache

…and so forth isn’t going to be very helpful. So no relief from the Constant Headache yet. But I did find out I have a heart murmer, which I never knew. The doctor was listening to my chest when she casually asked, “Oh do you have a heart murmer?” Um… I hope not because nobody’s ever mentioned it before! To somebody who doesn’t know that a heart murmer is usually no big deal, “heart murmer” sounds kind of like “serious heart condition that will cause you to die in a matter of days.” She explained that that’s not the case, that I was totally fine, but hey, let’s get you in for an Echo just to be sure. Apparently the hospital will be calling me this week to set up an appointment.

When I called my mom on the way home to ask about some family medical history I blanked on at the appointment, I mentioned my new-found condition.

Me: So guess what. I have a heart murmer.
Mom: Oh really!
Me: Why are you excited about that?
Mom: Because I have one too.

Great Mom, what other medical ailments can we bond over? Apparently my mom’s is benign though, meaning it’s not a danger to her at all, so here’s to hoping that part’s hereditary.

That’s about all from the doctor. Except I have one little question for the ladies. So, when you’re, ya know, getting your pap, and you’re laying on the table with your feet in the stirrups, don’t you think the doctor should have all the necessary tools at arm’s length? Nobody wants to watch her doctor roll over to the counter on a wheeled stool to grab a swab when she’s got a speculum in her… well okay, you see what I’m saying right? The exam rooms at my new doctor’s office obviously need remodeling.

In Wednesday’s class, our professor had to give a little lesson on English grammar. She actually had to teach people, in preparation for writing our final papers, how to properly use apostrophes. As in, it’s not 1970’s, it’s 1970s. Not possessive! Same thing with NPOs (nonprofit organizations) instead of NPO’s. Unless you’re talking about something belonging to one NPO, get your finger off that apostrophe key.

Also, someone asked why it’s “nonprofit” without a dash and “for-profit” with a dash. When the professor hesitated, I got to give a mini-lesson on prefixes.

Yes, this is graduate school.

Yep it’s my birthday. So far I’ve watched two episodes of Gilmore Girls, sat around in my pajamas, and opened a really cool present from Brad (pictures coming soon). We’re getting ready to head out to one of my favorite dives for lunch, and later tonight I’m having a big dinner with some of my very favorite people: my siblings, my mom, and some friends!

So far it’s a good day, I’m going to go enjoy it. Happy 12/8!

I never thought of the funny story, so I guess that’s a lost opportunity. But I feel like complaining today anyway because I’m getting a little concerned about something. For the last two weeks, I’ve basically had a headache every day. I mentioned it when it started, and then thought it was going away, but it turns out that was only a temporary respite. It’s not a particularly bad headache, but it’s near constant. I often wake up with it, and if I don’t, it’s not long before it shows up. I keep trying various over-the-counter medicines, I try to drink more water, and I try to give my eyes a break in case it’s vision related. I’ve also had Brad massage my neck and shoulders, as well as my temples. Not working.

Don’t worry though, I’m taking your advice. I have my annual doctor’s appointment tommorrow, and I plan to bring this up. I had to fill out some pre-appointment paperwork since this is a new doctor, and I vigorously marked the box next to “Headaches” in the “Do you have any of the following” section. So I’m pretty sure she’ll be asking me about it anyway. Last time I complained of a headache though, they tried to ship me off to a CT scan, which I thought was a little dramatic, so I never went.

This time I hope the doctor can offer some good advice or a prescription for a miracle drug rather than conjuring up visions of brain tumors. I’m sure it has something to do with stress, and Brad keeps offering ideas like “you need more exercise” or “what about a better diet?” or “you should do yoga more often.” That’s great honey, if I’m searching for long-term remedies. But it would be nice to be able to see and think straight again starting RIGHT NOW!

Oh no! I had this whole funny story I was planning to write about today, and now that I’m writing I can’t remember what it was. Plus I’m getting ready to run home to change clothes and swallow some dinner, immediately after which I’m off to my second-to-last class of the semester. So maybe it’s a good thing I forgot the story as I couldn’t have done it justice right now anyway. Maybe I’ll remember what it was by tomorrow when I sit down to write.

As you can see, I’m running in a thousand directions right now and my brain can’t keep up. I’m a week away from being done with school for the year though—only a behemoth of a research paper and two class periods stand in my way. Then, finally, I hope to concentrate on Christmas and other jolly things. Because jolly is so much more fun than research.

Before it becomes irrelevant, here’s how I felt about nablopomo this year:

It felt different than last year. I guess I think nablopomo has gotten so much bigger this time around that it actually feels less social. Last year I found so many new blogs that are now daily reads, many of whom are people I consider “blog friends.” I used the Randomizer and stumbled upon some interesting and well-written blogs, and in turn, received many new visitors to my site.

This year I think the Randomizer was broken. It brought me to the same few blogs over and over again, and usually those were poorly done and hard to read. Oh my god with the same six Blogger templates! And like my friend Jen said, there’s just a lot of bad writing out there. I’m trying not to say that with any arrogance because I know I’m not about to win a Bloggers’ Choice Award, but for any of you who looked around last month… it’s painful right?

And speaking of painful, what’s with all the complaining? I know most of us don’t post every day on a regular basis, so it’s perhaps a little challenging at times. But, um, you do realize it’s voluntary right? If it’s really that painful for you, opt out. I suppose I did my share of complaining too, but mostly that was sarcasm. The truth is that I really don’t think it’s that difficult to sit down and write something once a day. I’m not saying I want to do it for the rest of my life, but I mean come on, there are no rules! No guidelines! Just write something, anything, whatever, doesn’t matter as long as it’s posted before midnight. And if you can’t do it, who cares—it’s not worth all the turmoil. I guess I got sick of all the bitching.

And like I said, it’s not as fun when it’s not social. To be honest, it took all my available web-surfing time to keep up with the daily posts of the people I already read and love. I didn’t have much time to explore or use the randomizer, which would have been pointless anyway, because see above.

Finally, I think another benefit to nablopomo, along with finding new blogs to read, is exposing your own site to new readers. Last year in November my traffic for this site hit record highs, and with each new commenter, I made a new blog friend. This year I’ve had a few new commenters (hi! glad you’re here!), but my traffic has been stagnate. Which doesn’t matter, but the point is that I had hoped nablopomo would be as fun and social as it was last year. And though I had fun writing, loved hearing from those who did stop by, and am glad to have found a few new lovelies to read, it just wasn’t the same.