It's Not A Tumor

Just talked to the doc's office and my test results came back clean and normal! Yay! So I guess I just need to stay hydrated, not overdo it, and stay away from walmart.

Two More Tests

I met with the neuro this morning. He says that it sounds like the fainting/seizure episode was caused by dehydration and low blood sugar, but before they can say that and clear me so that I can drive again, I need two more tests. I have an EEG tomorrow and an MRI Tuesday. If those come back clean, I should be cleared. I'll let ya'll know how it goes......

So I Guess I've Been Better....

I went to WalMart right after work Friday to do my "big" grocery shopping trip. Last thing I remember, I was in the meat section looking for sausages that I needed so that I could make red beans. I was having some serious problems focusing though, like my eyes would not focus on one place. I was hot and shaky and I looked across the isle at a shelf full of Gatorade and thought, "I need to walk over there and drink one of those." Next thing I know, I'm waking up on the floor surrounded by EMT's. No joke. I passed out cold at WalMart.

The people who were there told the EMTs that I had been shaking, so they think I had a seizure. All I know is that I woke up and was completely disoriented and had no idea where I was or what was going on. Some WalMart employee picked up my phone and was making phone calls to my parents, but they couldn't get in touch with Neal. I was coherent enough to tell them to call Marilyn b/c Mr. Steve had the rig number and could get in touch with Neal while he was working. So the EMTs took me to the hospital where my step-mom was waiting when we got there. My Dad and mom showed up right after.

I had a CT scan at the hospital that came back clean. The ER doc released me that night and referred me to a neurologist who I am going to see Wednesday morning. Neal came in Friday night right after they called him and he just went back to work yesterday. His Mom came in town yesterday and is staying with me until tomorrow. He gets home (for the week) tomorrow night.

I am technically not supposed to drive until I am cleared by the neurologist, so I am resting at home. I am going a little stir crazy, but I'm just so freaking tired all the time that I sleep a lot.

My blood sugar was suuuuuper low when the EMTs tested it and I was really dehydrated, so they think that this episode was a result of that and not so much a neuro thing. I had worked out that morning and didn't eat much that day b/c my stomach was very upset, so I do think I was really, really dehydrated. Let's hope that's all it was.

I can't even begin to tell you what it's like to wake up, on the floor of a WalMart, completely unaware of anything that is going on. The entire night is still hazy. I felt like I was on drugs all night, but I hadn't taken anything.

So that was my weekend. I'll post an update after I talk to the neurologist Wednesday.

Decisions Decisions

You know, I've been wanting to update this blog for a while now, but I write/type all day long at work, so when I get home I have a major aversion to writing. If da' Parish would make google blogger accessible at work again I would be updating all the time. (Which is probably why it's not accessible anymore. The nerds in the I.T. department at work watch all employees like hawks. Every now and then I'll go to WebMD to look up some completely obscure illness or symptom and will hope that I'm freaking them out.)

--Seattle was good. My boss was a bit clingy; I had to eat lunch and dinner with him everyday we were there. I finally got away the day before we left and was able to do a little shopping by myself. Our hotel (Red Lion) was in the middle of the prime shopping area of downtown Seattle so I highly recommend it if you plan on visiting there anytime soon. Our flight was super delayed coming back due to bad weather and I was soooo ready to get back home, so when I landed in NOLA I swear I could have easily laid on the floor of the airport and kissed it. But then again, I think I feel like that almost every time I land there.

--My sister is moving to Houston this weekend and I am so bummed that I can't even acknowledge that it's about to happen. And then my brother and his family will be moving to San Antonio next spring. (Yes - City of Austin,Texas - I know that you are centrally located between the two cities. You're still in the back of my mind. Especially after I've been drinking.)

--But not really because we have agreed on a neighborhood in Abita Springs where we want to buy. Baby steps, people. Due to Neal's work schedule, we only have two weeks every month when we can do important married people things (like meet with mortgage bankers and Realtors) so we move slower than most. But the thing is, we make big decisions relatively quickly and easily. We found a subdivision we like, and that will be the one that we move into. It's the only one we looked at, but we know what we like when we see it. Now ask us what we want to order off of a menu at a restaurant and we will both go back and forth and change our minds, question our decision, etc.

--We had a good July 4th weekend. Hit up a few local bars, watched fireworks on the lake, bbq'd, went to Tartine's Grand Opening...good stuff. We also made it to Thibodaux to meet with his adviser. He is registered for 9 hours in the fall and I couldn't be prouder. We are going to Biloxi next weekend with his parents and I am so looking forward to getting some SUN. It will be 'safe' sun with SPF 45, but it will still be sun.

--Bethenny Frankel's show. I love it and her. Maybe a little too much.

Lastly (and please excuse the snarkiness),

--So I have a friend who got married to a very sweet, cute girl a few weeks ago. I really like her a lot and he seems soooo happy, so I am so happy for them. She is pregnant and is probably about 5 or so months along. They were keeping it under wraps for a while, but I think that a lot of people probably know and did know at the wedding. As far as I know, they have not made a formal announcement about the baby. Recently, she has started posting little comments on his facebook page that are, I'm sure, in reference to the baby. This drives me insane. Please do not drop little hints on facebook and wait for someone to ask you about it. If you want people to know that you are pregnant, just freaking say so!

Oh Lawd

Saturday before last I was laying in bed watching Valentine's Day (terrible) at about 10pm-ish when I hear a noise on the front deck and then that "power down" noise you hear when your power goes out. All the lights in half of the house shut down while others stayed on (but are very dim). Talk about freaky. Neal was gone, my landlords were out of town, and my Dad and step-mom were in South Carolina. I couldn't see ANYTHING outside because it was so dark and I was terrified b/c the power was not out everywhere, it was just half-out at my house. I flipped all the breakers, nothing happened, so I panicked and called my brother. He told me to get in the car and come stay at his place, but I didn't want to walk outside by myself. He told me to call the cops and ask them to come and check stuff out. I didn't know what else to do, so I called 'em.

About 10 minutes later a cop car pulls up and out gets a female cop who is both younger and shorter than me. She wasn't scared to walk around outside in the dark though, so she did and said she didn't see anything or anyone. She said it looked like a power company issue, so after she left I called Cleco. They showed up about 20 minutes later and spent about an hour fixing it. It had stormed earlier that day and according to one of the Cleco guys, "Them lines were all messed up in them woods up thar." After they left I finished up watching the crap-fest that was Valentine's Day and eventually went to sleep. (Honestly, that move is an awful, wanna' be Love Actually.)

And no, I'm not pregnant yet. For a few days I thought I could be though because I was about 6 days late. And I'm never late. I even made a doctor's appointment so that I could get checked out, but I decided to keep the appointment even though I wasn't preggo and get my yearly check-up etc. I'm glad I went because I totally love my new doctor. She is young and cool and sat down and talked to me, and I am so happy that I don't have to doctor shop for someone now.

I am taking the day off of work next Thursday to go to Thibodaux with Neal to meet with his adviser at Nicholls. We both generally prefer that I handle the administrative logistics of our lives (bills, paperwork, schedules, etc) so I don't mind going. This means I get to plan, make schedules, and possibly label binders and folders. It all makes me a little giddy.

I want to now take this time to give a shout-out to Sarah who was on her best behavior as bride-to-be/center of gift opening attention at her shower. And she did it all while looking fabulous and wearing pants. Also, she and John make quite an expert registering team...they have registered for some fantastic home goods. Coolest knife block ever.

I'm supposed to be going to Seattle for a work conference week after next, but I so don't want to go. I feel like I should be excited about going somewhere new, but the trip is with my boss and I just don't want to spend 5 days there with the boss while having to schmooze, etc. I think I would be more into it if he weren't going. I mean, I really do like working for him, but I don't want to spend 5 days out of town with him. Plus he's kind of clingy and likes to talk a lot...I'm trying to maneuver my way out of this one...we'll see. And I wouldn't get back until late Saturday night, which would make me very late for Kristenpalooza. And we can't have that now, can we?

A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed to get my haircut and I didn't know where to go so I just made an appointment at this salon that is right next to my gym. I walked into a room full of very loud women talking and laughing with the "yattiest" accents I'd ever heard. I think I was the only woman in that room who was not from Chalmette. Oh lawd, it was love/hate on my part. I find it annoying and yet so entertaining at the same time. I don't think I can go back there again though..it was just. too. much.

And I have one observation from today: when there is a mini-cooper with two kayaks on top of it in a parking lot outside of a coffee shop, it is not difficult to walk into the shop and pick out exactly who they belong to.

Back to School

So today is our 2 year anniversary! He's at work until Wednesday, but he did send me a dozen roses. Very sweet.

We found out Friday that he got accepted to Nicholls for their Petroleum Services program! We hadn't even sent them his high school transcripts yet when we got the acceptance letter. They had received his college transcripts though, so I guess that was enough. So Neal is a "Colonel" now (I had to Google their mascot....I sincerely thought it was going to be a crawfish named Thibodaux or something) and starts in the fall. The program he is in is offered for guys who work 7 and 7 in the oil field, so hopefully work + school won't be toooooo strenuous. They are supposed to offer a good number of online classes too. I'm super excited and am so very proud of him for doing this. So...Geaux Colonels!

Two Weeks Worth

Hey Dudes.

Let's start with weekend before last....the A/C went out in the house. I woke up to 78 degrees inside Saturday morning. I called the landlord, but of course you cannot get anyone out to your house to fix the A/C during the weekend. I just turned all the fans on high and powered through it. I pretended like I was in a movie, b/c you know when a movie is supposed to take place in south Louisiana they always show houses with windows open and ceiling fans on and nooooo air conditioning. They came out Monday morning and fixed it, so crisis over.

Work was non-stop last week. The worst it's ever been. I enjoy being busy and all, but it was a little out of hand. I literally got fussed at for working too hard and was told that I need to chill before I burn out. That was a first. I was also told to delegate more than I have been...I totally knew that was going to be a problem.

I enjoyed a great week/weekend with Neal and family. 'Cause that's what it's all about people....spending time with those you love. We went with Maddie and Harmon to see Ryan Bingham play in Baton Rouge at Chelsea's Friday night. While RB put on a great show, I will never ever ever go back to Chelsea's for a concert. It was so small, so crowded, and so hot. And when you're only 5 feet tall, all you see is this.....



The stage was practically level with the floor. As the crowd thinned out a bit, people seemed to feel sorry for me and kept being like, "Oooh, here's a spot! Here's a spot! Move up so you can see!" So I did move up. I was almost to the stage so that I could finally get a glimpse of RB (who is also short), but the 3 assholes in that picture above were first row and would not move. They were all well over 6 feet tall. I did get a pic or two of Ryan Bingham though...




Honestly, if you don't listen to this boy's music, you should check it out. Go on iTunes and listen to "Southside of Heaven." It's good stuff.

We ate hungover lunch at Brewbacher's in BR Saturday and it was delish. Before last weekend, I swear it had been 7 years since I had been there. Chicken club still tastes the same.

We did Mother's Day/Mom's 50th celebration Saturday night at my Mom's. It's not often that the 4 of us kids are together, so it's always fun when we get to spend a little time together. TJ was so funny. He walked up to Neal with his arms raised (it's his cue to "pick me up"). It was pretty damn cute.



And about the kiddies and such...no, not preggo yet. It seems that my "lady schedule" completely conflicts with Neal's work schedule. Not quite sure what we're going to do about that, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. I see a drive to Shreveport for a Saturday night during his work week in my near future. Can I take off of work for an out-of-town booty call with my rig-workin' husband? I'm not sure, that may be frowned upon.

Speaking of rig-workin' men....if I see a picture of another oil-soaked bird on the news while I have yet to see a picture on the news of a single one of the 11 rig workers who freaking died in the explosion, I will scream. Hating the media right now.

I found out last week that my old boss died. Kirt Bennett, the guy who gave me my first job out of college on his campaign, had a stroke week before last and passed away about a week later. He was 42 years old, married, with 3 young children. As far as I knew, he was a healthy guy. He was one of those people who was just truly exceptional and made a difference in so many peoples lives. I went to the visitation Saturday morning, and got there just in time to see some women take his wife out of the church for a little while. You guys, it was not good. This woman was not okay. I know that she will be fine b/c she is so strong and smart and has great family and friends who will be there for her and her kids, but it was terrible. His death was so unexpected...a stroke at 42....it's just not fair. Kirt was involved in politics for a little while, but his biggest contribution to Baton Rouge was the Young Leaders Academy. It was a school that he founded for young African American men who did not have father figures in their lives. Apparently, some graduates of the YLA stopped by the hospital to say goodbye to Kirt when it was understood that he was not going to regain any brain function. One of his sons was asking who was going to correct him when he was wrong/did something wrong now that his dad was not going to be around, and one of the graduates of the academy said something along the lines of, "Your father was there for me when I didn't have one. Me and the 45 other YLA graduates who were taken care of by your father will be there to take care of you."