Not So Happy Holloween

I have a few things to cover so I will start with the present and work my way back to a couple weeks ago. I have recently learned how many people actually read my blog, so I am inclined to make more entries.

In case anyone has been emailing me at work and I am MIA, I am at home with yet another kidney stone. I woke up at 4 am yesterday with severe abdominal pain. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to go to the ER, my real doctor or doc in a box. Scott talked me into my real doctor after I called him home from work (after he was only there 5 minutes). I thought I could be superwoman and drive myself. Nope, wasn't gonna happen. The doctor was trying to diagnose me with food poisioning or the 24-hour stomach bug. I said, whoa, have we ruled out a kidney stone? She said no and pee in a cup. Oh joy! Yes, there's blood in the urine so now onto prick the finger kind of blood test. Yes, white blood cell count VERY high. At this point I was sent to the hospital for a CT scan. And bingo there's the stone hanging out just outside my bladder. Obviously it had been moving up until this point. It either hasn't moved since yesterday or I can't feel it due to some great medicine! I am off to the urologist in the morning to determine passing it on my own or surgery.

Just when I think life is getting back to normal and I will have 40 hours in the office to catch up on things, wrong again. Plus I am TOTALLY devistated because Nicholas Sparks will be in town tomorrow for a booking signing and I will miss it. I already have his book though and I have read the first 40 pages. So far, so good!

This past weekend we were in Boone for the App State/Furman game. App State won and they are still undefeated in the conference!!! BOYAH! That is bragging rights for me for the next year. I love rubbing that in Mister C's face!! Those prissy paladins just can't handle the weather in Boone. That is perhaps part of the source of the kidney stone. I shivered so much on Saturday that I probably loosened the stone from my kidney and that is what started it on it's lovely journey to my bladder. We had a great time with Katie Bonk and the gang. It's always nice to visit Boone in the fall.

The weekend before was scrapbook weekend. It was very fun and I got a lot accomplished. I finally finished the honeymoon album after 3 1/2 years and I started Sophie's album. I also made a few Christmas cards. We did go on a couple field trips to Biltmore Village and a scrapbook store in Brevard. It was a great time, but I was ready to get home to Mister Chris.

And now back to my airline saga story. So Houston had gotten lots of rain that day and the airport was flooded and had to close. The airline folks in New Orleans told me I had a good chance of making my connecting flight in Houston since everything had been delayed that day. So I got to Houston and my flight to G-Vegas was delayed but not cancelled. I was quite relieved. As long as I got home, it didn't matter what time. So it was about 45 minutes before my flight was supposed to leaved and the number had been deleted from the board at the gate. So I walk over to the TV and it has been deleted from there as well. Has it been cancelled or just delayed even more. So I go to the ticket counter and stand in a line of at least 100 people. At the counter I tell the lady I assume my flight has been cancelled. Yes ma'am we can get you on at 11:00 am tomorrow. OK, I need a hotel. The guy at the front of the terminal can help you. Umm....OK (I guess). Yeah, all this guy did was ask the shuttle drivers if they had vacancy. No one had vacancy so I thought I can just rent a car and find something myself. I went to every rental car place and no one had any cars available. OK, now what do I do? My cell phone is dead and I have already called corporate travel on the pay phone. Fortunately on the way back to the airport on the rental car bus, I met this guy that lived in Houston and he helped me find a hotel on the other side of town, far enough away from the airport but I decent part if town. Finally at 1:00 am central time I arrived at my hotel and was able to get a few hours sleep before heading back to the airport. When I arrived back in G-Vegas, no luggage. It came 1 1/2 days later after I had already left for the scrapbook retreat.

So since Houston, life has been chaos and maybe it's true that kidney stones are a total result of stress and not what you eat and drink. Perhaps I should do more research. But the highlight of today was seeing the cute kids in their costumes at my front door. Maggie didn't like that at all. She was a nervous wreck since the door bell kept ringing every 10 minutes. Now onto November that I hope will be a much better month than October!!!

I will NEVER fly Continental.....EVER, EVER AGAIN

So that's my thought this Friday. I wish I had time to tell the entire story, but here's a little preview. Took me 24+ hours to get home from New Orleans. I could have driven in that amount of time. During that 24 hours.....no toothpaste/brush, no clothes, no deodorant. No hotels, rental cars or anyone that could help. Need I say more. It was by far the WORST traveling experience EVER! On top of that I was only home 1 night and now I am leaving again this afternoon. But this will be a pleasant trip up to the mountains for a scrapbook retreat. I can't wait. I must get going though. I still have to pack, eat, clean a bit and meet the group I am going with in less that 2 hours. Yikes. Will give full details on my New Orleans trip when I return early next week.

So my blog has been neglected for over a month now and I am very ashamed. This tends to be a crazy time of year not only at home but work as well. The weather is getting cooler and that makes me want to clean my house, start drinking coffee again, watch more football and get out my winter clothes. I did all of these things this weekend and I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Now that these things are complete, I can now focus on my scrapping and blogging. I have caught up on all the blogs I try to read daily. The past couple of weeks have been hit and miss because I have been a little on the busy side at work. Yes, I admit that I read most of my blogs at work. Sept. 30th is always year end, which means projects must close and new projects begin. It’s a totally weird concept I think, but whatever…it’s only my job. I don’t make the rules. Although if I did, I would find a much better way to organize projects. As for the scrapping projects, I am under crunch time to get my projects organized because I am headed to a scrapbook retreat in a couple of weeks. I need to figure out what I will be working on, getting my pictures printed and all my supplies together. I cannot procrastinate because 2 days before I leave, I will be returning from New Orleans. Not my favorite place to travel, but we’re kicking off a work project that I think will be quite fun with some very cool techy stuff. It should be interesting to see from beginning to end.

So since I last posted, I got to meet mini-Karo. She is an angel and I am a very proud aunt. Karo loves hanging out with her everyday. Here's a picture of the little princess.

We also had friends leave for England. They will be there for 2 months on a work assignment. I made this journal for my friend so she can write about all the places they visit. When she returns her journaling will already be complete for her scrapbook. This is an idea I borrowed from Ali. So my projects are picking back up which is a good thing!

Also an update on Maggie and Sophie. Sophie’s allergies have flared up a bit so she was back to see the doc for more meds. Of course the antibiotics have cleared her eyes and chin but it will be interesting to see how long this one lasts. I am still giving her baths daily and I am so happy she is such a patient cat. Her sister on the other hand, comes from a different planet. As you know, Maggie only goes to the vet once a year for her shots. This year was extra difficult. She was good in the car and pretty decent in the waiting room. But when it came time to get her out of the cage…..forget about it. They tried to take her to the back to roll her up in a blanket and cover her face. She wouldn’t have that at all. So the last alternative is to gas her just to give her shots. They were very nice and trimmed her claws while she was sedated. But I was quite nervous when they brought her back to me. I couldn’t figure out if Maggie was snoring still or growling. Oh it was growling. Her eyes looked very green and they were glossed over. By the time I got her home, she was back to her old self and ready to hide and never leave the house again. But the doc said her check up was just fine and she’s in great health, but could loose a few pounds. Currently she weighs 15 and ¼. WOW! Here is a picture of my pretty princess that does not tolerate strangers.