Two Months!!

Today marks two months since he proposed!

Time is going so fast. I hope we can get all the visa stuff and other paperwork in order. Speaking of visas, I am planning to leave two months from today to head over that way! Woohoo!

This will be an exciting trip! I am going to spend a few days in Belgium with my awesome Russian friends, and then I am going on to Belarus where I will hopefully tie the knot!!

Let's hope it doesn't go like this...

Or this...

Be Healed!

AT LAST!

I finally feel like a normal person again. Today, for the first time in two weeks, I took a shower all by myself! I washed my hair! (Something that has only happened about twice in the last two weeks.) I still have kind of a gaping wound, but it is healed enough that I can move fairly normally.

AND...

I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, apparently, and Tuesday I broke out into a rash. Everywhere! I mean E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.  And also yeast infection on my backside. Finally, finally, finally, I am pretty much back to normal!

YAY!!!!!!

So, I am now trying to catch up on homework. I already felt like I was behind before completely missing a week, two in theory. But, one step at a time.

And, on the positive side, only 68 days till I get to see my man! (If things go as planned.)

Woohoo!

He's A Keeper!

I called my man today. He was feeling better and he wanted to know how I was. It took a while, but I finally explained to him about the MRSA and why I was in the hospital. He was a little concerned after I sent him a text saying I was on narcotics...which I was, but that wasn't really the right term in Russian...

He was thrilled because he finally received the package I sent him (originally back in February) which came back to me and I sent again. I actually split it into two parts this time. I made him an apron and some dish rags, a scarf (knitted), a photo book, sent him a new dictionary, and a card from last Valentine's Day. I also sent a scarf, apron, dish towels, dish rags and pot holders for his mom, a scarf for his brother, if he chooses to part with one, and some chocolate.

Stuff I made for his mom. (My mom embroidered the towels.)

Apron I made for him.

Scarves and dish rags I knit.

Other stuff. (Except the mug...it broke on the way back the 1st time.)

He thought it was sweet that I made everything and he was really impressed by my sewing skills. I thanked him and explained that I'd been sewing since I was ten and that sometimes I made my own clothes out of necessity. Now there are lots of fat people, but when I growing up it was difficult to find clothes that were big enough and that were not old lady-ish.

He told me that he really liked the card I sent and that it meant a lot. He said that I often told him how  kind he was and such things, and that he probably needed to say those things to me more often but that I really was a wonderful person. *feels*

I just about melted.

We went on and talked about other things. I was having trouble formulating thoughts because I am still fuzzy from my stint in the hospital, and he laughed and said "Are you half baked?" He had seen the movie Half Baked when it came out and thought it was funny, so I apparently reminded him of that. Ha ha.

Then somehow we got on the topic of kids. He said that he knew he had told me before that he loved kids, but he wasn't sure if he wanted his own, but he realized that maybe he had just never found the right woman. Now as he is getting closer to 40, he thinks that the girls he had been with before just weren't really the type to be a mother or that he would want to be the mother of his kids. He said that you have to have 100% trust and faith in that person and that I was the only woman who he did, 100%.

O.M.G.

Talk about what every girl dreams of hearing. I realized, yes there will be hurdles, and no everything will not be a bed of roses, but I found one of the sweetest guys ever and I continue to be amazed by him. I feel truly lucky and like we were truly made for each other.

I can't believe this is happening to me.

Wash Your Flipping Hands!

I am home today feeling much better than I was, although, that's not saying much.

Last Thursday I noticed a lump in my right armpit. One of the things I inherited from my father is oily skin and a tendency towards infected follicles, so I just figured that it was a big zit. But it really hurt. It was about the size of a small marble when I went to bed Thursday. Friday, it had about doubled in size and hurt like heck! Mom tried to open it up, but we just got a little blood and that was it.

Friday night we had decided that after the parade on Saturday morning I would go to Urgent Care and have them look at it. I participated in the parade, went to lunch and then went to the Urgent Care at the new hospital building. We got in pretty fast, a nice P.A. numbed it, lanced it, and said she figured it was MRSA. She asked if I wanted some pain pills and gave me Keflex (an antibiotic).

When the numbing shots wore of, it just kept hurting. I wondered why it was hurting so bad and when I went upstairs to get ready for bed at about 11:00 pm I discovered that the lump on my arm was about the size of a baseball.

It hurt really badly by this point. So, we loaded into the car and went to the ER. Here was our first surprise, they said the P.A. had called earlier and told them we might be in later. Funny, she never told us that. We sat in the ER and waited for a little over an hour. I had been holding my arm up pretty much all day, and it hurt like a son of a b*tch. Finally we got in and this doctor whom we had never seen before, and who was really weird, took a look at me.

By this point, mom was pissed off. It didn't help that this doctor was short with mom, scolding her for removing the packing even though she tried to explain that she had be instructed to change the packing by the P.A., and was so rough in handling my arm that I ended up sobbing. He just squeezed on it and rammed the gauze into the hole until it hurt so bad I thought I was going to at least throw up, if not pass out. H prescribed a new antibiotic because he couldn't figure out why the P.A. would prescribe Reflex if she thought it was MSRA.

I waited another half hour for a shot of Morphine (which did nothing for my pain), an antibiotic shot, and a shot of stuff so that the Morphine would not make me puke. At 2:45 a.m. we went home.

Mom went to get my new antibiotics Sunday morning and when I got up to take it, we discovered that the lump was now the size of a grapefruit and still hurt like a s.o.b. Almost in tears again because of the whole saga, we headed to the ER.  AGAIN.

What I haven't mentioned is that we spent 15-20 minutes at Urgent Care and both ER visits giving them the same information about what had been going on, meds, etc., every time! We were actually this close to going to another hospital.

So, we got the ER at 11:30 is a.m. they got me in a room and then we waited... Mom told me that at 1:00 p.m. we were going to leave and go somewhere else. At 12:58 a really nice, and competent, P.A. came in. She took a look, got me an IV started and got me Fentanyl. HALLELUJAH! They gave me a round of IV antibiotics which took two hours, and then they took me right into surgery.

Where there was a one inch incision, there is now a 2-2.5 inch incision. The MRSA had apparently tunneled in my arm. They kept my in the hospital on the blessed pain killers until Wednesday when my white count was finally normal again.

So, three days of strong IV antibiotics, and good progress healing later, I am home chilling until I get the ok to get back to work.

MRSA is found everywhere, as are other strains of Staph, so all I can say is wash your freaking hands people!!!!

I Am A Gummy Bear

No, I'm not really. Though sometimes I feel like one. Anyway, I have been kind of stressed out the last two weeks and last night I just needed something feel good, so I rediscovered an old favorite and also listened to a new favorite.

So here for your listening pleasure, an old fave:

and a new fave:

Enjoy!

One Month Already?

Some people, ahem, Jasmin, think I'm being stupid because I said that today was the one month anniversary of him proposing. I just replied to her, you just wait until it's your turn and then I'munna be all like "shut up!" :P

Yeah, I'm gonna try to not be that girl...I said try...

Little Girl Dreams

So, Jazz and I had a really fun day at the Bridal Forum!! We looked at all kinds of flowers, photographers, DJs, food, venues and dresses. But most importantly, we ate CAKE!

What little girl, or big girl, doesn't dream about her wedding day? Ok, so I'm not sure how, when or where, but I still am enjoying daydreaming!!

Thus far I know that I really want a photo booth at my reception. I also know that I want a very elegant, kind of retro, figure hugging, lacy gown. Of course, I'm not sure what I will be able to find in my size, or what size I might be at the time of the big day. I like this dress Trumpet Mermaid Scoop Neck Court Train Tulle Lace Wedding Dress. Or this one from http://www.modwedding.com/.

As for a place, I really like Rollins Mansion.

I love peacocks, so I want peacock themed decorations and colors. I want these shoes and accessories like this. Peacocks, books, calla lilies...ahhhhh! I can see it now. Beautiful, elegant, romantic.

I can't believe it, I can't believe I'm getting married...someday...somewhere.

While I'm not sure of much else right now, I am sure about him. I've never been so sure about anything.

My head's in the clouds!

I'm twitter-pated!

P.S. Thanks for spending the day with me Jazz!