When Allergies Attack Part 2

In case you couldn’t guess by my blog title post… Yep, the allergies are kicking my tail! Again! But I will get to that. Because, mostly, they were the only lame thing about my week. Mostly.

Monday was another day of work (had to sit in on a meeting with the Commissioners and be responsible for minutes), followed by another Marvelous Monday Meal. I didn’t actually contribute much in the way of this meal (I took drinks and chips and dip), because it was Morgan’s 18^th birthday, so she had requested specific things that Lea makes. So we enjoyed a marvelous meal of chicken enchiladas, macarone (not to be mistaken for macaroni), chips and dip, and refried beans. Then we had red velvet cake and pretty butterfly cupcakes. Dan made the cake and he did a great job. I was pretty much full by the end of our meal. We talked a lot, as is par for the course, and then we settled in to watch a couple episodes of Scrubs. I developed a lovely headache (I’m pretty positive it was due to lack of sleep), and I was hoping laying down would improve it. It did not. Boo. So I went home and talked to Jeremy for a few minutes and then got in my jammies, read scriptures, and went straight to bed. It’s not so normal for a Nilla Wafer to be in bed by 10:00, so that’s saying something… Here are a couple of pictures from Monday Meals, though. Notice the cake and the cupcakes. Yum.

Happy 18th Morgan!!!

Tuesday I awoke and was headache-free! It was a pretty typical Tuesday. I went to work and probably encountered some new and random phone call from a county citizen. But nothing too memorable. Then I went home, pulled a few weeds (aka grass) in my garden and then walked with Sue.

Wednesday was just another day. And just another meeting. Where I sat for, oh, about 2.5 hours listening to the county’s planning commission talking to the county’s board of commissioners. It’s enlightening, I will say that. And I definitely got a weirdo phone call on Wednesday. It has to do with the Posse Comitatus Act. Feel free to research that if you care to. I didn’t. I did, however, make up new math. I take those kind of freedoms that allow me to change the value of “e.” I believe the correct value of that is something like 2.17blahblahblah (yeah, don't quote me on that value. It's been a while since my days of math (remember, when I started using more letters than numbers in math, I figured I might as well be in English where they are supposed to use numbers ;). I could look up the value of "e," but I'm feeling kind of lazy :)) (Perhaps later I will be the recipient of a diatribe concerning the value of "e" and my laziness ;) -- though if I happened to get in the vicinity of being close to the value, you should be impressed :)). But that number (the true value of "e") means nothing to me, so I changed it ;). Now it represents 3 words. We’ll see how the mathematicians and engineers of the world feel about that. I’m sure they will be impressed with the creativity of an English major… Hahaha. The day was much improved when I happened to wind up with a free evening (that I hadn’t been planning to have) and so I happened to inform a particularly fun and handsome guy with dimples that I had a free evening and that handsome guy happened to not want to stay at work too much past 6. And so we happened to have the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company for a “bonus” day. And it just so happens that it was a fabulous way to spend my evening (even if we didn’t act responsibly and stayed outside talking way too late). That’s a lot of happy happenstance :).

And okay, so Thursday brought the price to be paid for staying outside talking until after 11:00 with someone I love. It was not fun to get up in the morning. At all. But I was bolstered in the knowledge that I was on the cusp of a 4-day weekend. That helped quite a bit. That and my happy smiley morning text from Jeremy :). (Good gracious, could I ooze anymore ooey gooeyness and still be considered human!?! Yeesh, I’m sitting here grinning even as I type this ;)!). And okay, so actually, as the day wore on, things kind of roller-coastered (I’m making that a verb, because I like it). I dozed for about 15 minutes at the end of lunch. The day dragged on, even though I had plenty to stay busy. Brad had the kids for the night, so I took Samuel to Cars 2 (in 3D) for his birthday. The movie was definitely cute. And so is Sam. Evidenced in our pictures. What a cool dude! I got home and talked to Jeremy for a while. And then things started going downhill (after the phone call... It wasn't because of the phone call. I should definitely clarify that!). Emotionally speaking. I think it was partially tiredness. And, considering the fact that I cried both Friday and Saturday, possibly hormonal too. And overwhelmedness. (I’m making up a bunch of words in this blog post. See, I don’t just offend mathy people ;) (I didn’t make up “mathy”… I “stole” it from Dilbert’s creative genius)).

So for various reasons (thinking, loud creaky doors, sharing an air mattress with Saria), I didn’t get much sleep Thursday night. Which I’m sure helped my emotional state and mood immensely. I had every good intention of starting out the day (and finishing it) all happy-go-lucky. After all, I have much to be grateful for and about which to smile :). But yeah… I had the responsibility of getting the kids to Christina’s since Brad was at work, and let’s just say the kids weren’t uber-cooperative. They pushed my buttons. All of them. And then they laughed about it. 40 minutes later we finally managed to leave the house and drove about 15 to 20 minutes to Christina’s house where I dropped them off, hugged Desiree and Emily, and then headed to the funeral home to drop off my stuff and get the keys from Bob (stayed with Melanie for the weekend). And okay, so driving to the funeral home was where I cried the first time. Mostly probably because Christina hugged me and recognized I was under stress… She’s a wonderful sister. Then I had Presidency Meeting, then went back to the funeral home. Then I ate a late lunch with Lea and we just talked and shared stories of our week. And discussed Monday Meals. Which will be taking a sort-of hiatus during the summer. (Remember how I was going to discuss priorities in my previous blog post… But ironically didn’t have time? Yeah… So this week has been a ponderous one while I’ve examined the items on my plate and tried to determine what I can cut and what needs to stay… And, at least temporarily, Monday Meals made the chopping block. Which adds to my stress, because I don’t actually want to get rid of the fun things I enjoy doing, which give me a break from responsibilities, but… You gotta do what you gotta do…). Actually, there are a few reasons that Monday Meals will be harder to accomplish this summer. And all combined, Lea and I think it’s best to just play it by ear rather than have it scheduled for every week. Plus we can always get together on a whim when we are all available. And she and Chuck and Jeremy and I can do a double date at some point… (That will probably be news to Jeremy when he reads this ;)). Plus Lea and I will do lunch or something on Fridays, since I’m off on Fridays and she has every other Friday afternoon off. But anyway, it was nice to gab with her and just relax. Then I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a dessert item and a beverage for my “girlie night” with Wendy. I went home, watered my garden, showered, packed for staying with Melanie, and then talked to Jeremy. Which calmed my nerves and eased my stress even more. Companionship is a wonderful thing. Knowing there is someone that supports and loves me is an amazing feeling. I went by and dropped my stuff off at Melanie’s, and then headed out to Wendy’s for our dinner and a movie. Wendy had made some beef pockets. Basically they are ground beef mixed with various things like mushrooms, peppers, cheese, all wrapped in a bread dough ball of yummy. It had a German flavor to it. And then we also enjoyed a salad alongside ;). This was the first time I’d ever put sunflower seeds on my salad, and you know what? I loved it! I’ve seen them available at salad bars, but never tried it before. I may do that more often :). So Wendy and I got to talking. And time ran away from us (shocking…). And then we figured we’d better get a movie going! So we spent a good 15 minutes trying to decide on a movie and we finally settled on the first half of Harry Potter 7 (I still hadn’t seen more than about 45 minutes of it to that point). And then I looked at the time. It was 8:00!!! So much for my plans to be back at Melanie’s by 9:30! Yikes! Oh well… So the movie ended around 10:15, and I headed on to Melanie’s. I visited with her for a bit, but then decided I was ready to hit the sack, so that’s just what I did!

Queenie the cat woke me up at 6:00 the next morning. I'm never happy when she does that. So I got up and put her outside and went back to sleep :). Saturdays are generally utilized for sleeping in and very few things interrupt that in my world ;). I finally rolled out of bed around 9:00 and loaded up the weed whacker to take to the house to cut back the yard that was beginning to look like it could host some safaris... My plans were foiled when I couldn't get the weed whacker to not sputter out everytime I started using it. I even called Bob to ask him about it, and he said he had had a hard time using it the last time he did and gave me a few pieces of advice... none of which worked. So I gave up, slightly discouraged, and started weeding my garden. Jeremy got there and still had to park hidden in the grass. But apparently he is skilled at temperamental weed whackers. Either that or the weed whacker just likes him better... Nah, kidding. But either way, he got it to run and he weed whacked all the grass. Then he helped me weed my garden and then I got a shower (it was a hot day, so I was sweaty) and then we went to lunch. But first, I shared with Jeremy one of the delicacies of Panama: a Chinese Plum! Okay, so these were slightly more salty and less sweet than the ones we used to have in Panama. But it's all about the experience ;). He LOVED it! Okay, maybe not so much. Most people aren't highly impressed... But he kept it in his mouth much longer than most people. And I was nice enough to recommend we suck on those before our lunch, since the lunch would serve to do away with the taste :). See, I'm nice :). Next week's taste adventure will be boiled (pronounced bowled) peanuts (from the South -- the South's favorite treat, if you believe the can). I had a friend give me a can of them when I left Alabama. They've been awaiting the perfect opportunity to be opened. I think I've found it. Now Jeremy can enjoy some "culinary" adventures of my past homes. Hahaha... I'll let you know how it goes :). So after the Chinese Plum adventure, we ate Chinese food, and Jeremy is brave enough to try something on the menu that has a name which in no way indicates what he is getting (Moo Goo Gai Pan). But he also is willing to overlook nasty cartilage in chicken, so what do you expect ;)? I got sweet and sour chicken. I don't go for unrecognizable names myself. I'm disgusted enough with some parts of the food I recognize, so I don't tempt fate and go for the unknown ;). After lunch, which was pretty tasty, and a fun little fortune in my fortune cookie (which told me that next Saturday would be an exciting time for me -- gee, that was a no-brainer, though (maybe it'll involved the boiled peanuts :)) ;)), we went to the store to buy vegetables for his family's 4th of July get-together. That was our contribution to the day. So after fighting the swarms of people at the store, we then stopped at another store (Lowe's a.k.a my dad's favorite place on earth, a.k.a my opinion of the most exciting store on earth (one of those may be sarcastic... Or both of them...) to get some tubing stuff to make a really cool water toy for Monday. Then we went back to my house to cut up all the vegetables and store them so they were ready to go for Monday. Then off to the park to study scriptures and talk. And this is where allergies attacked. Again. Oy. This was awful. Probably worse than the ballpark experience. I think I've shared before my distaste of blowing my nose in front of people. Mostly because it grosses me out when others do it around me. Unfortunately, with allergies, walking away to a private place is nearly impossible, because otherwise you'd always be in the private place. It's gross. And itchy and annoying. I think I sneezed more on Saturday evening than I did in months. We discovered the culprit (some purposely-planted hedge flowers) and found a way to get away from that area. We found a nice bench right on the water where we sat and talked and enjoyed eachother's company. And my nose cleared up and I stopped sniffing :). I'm sure I was so cute... Hahaha. Yuck. Clean tissue in one pocket, used in the other. Yuck. So un-Hila like. Seriously. As the sun started to set (always so pretty on the water), we headed back to the car. And since we walked back through the pollen minefield, I was sneezing my head off again the whole way home. It got to where it was funny. I was just sitting over in my seat laughing about how ridiculous it was. We hung out at my house and talked for a bit (not in the car, as we think there was enough pollen remnants inside to have my allergies going crazy...) and then we said goodnight around 10. One question: can you squeeze your nose and rub your tummy at the same time ;)? How about someone else's? Hahaha. So yeah, I went back to Melanie's and got a shower and tried to get over my allergy attack. Used lots of kleenex. But slept really well in spite of it all.

Okay, so Sunday the cat didn't wake me up until about 8:00. Which was when I had to get up anyway, so that was refreshing :). I woke up with one solidly stuffed up nostril. Fun. But at least I could breathe sufficiently well out of the other :). I still didn't make it to church as early as I was supposed to for choir practice. But we only sang one song. Oh yeah, I woke up fine as far as allergies, but the simple act of walking from the house to my car (no more than 10 feet) sent me spiraling into sneezes and sniffles again. It was cute. Me and my tissues at church. Yipee. I conducted in Sharing Time and we had the new schedule today, and it went so smoothly! It was fabulous! And after about 2.5 hours of church, my allergies stopped kicking me and that improved things too :). Choir practice has been moved to the church building right after church, so that is also marvelous! So I stayed for that and then headed to the house to help my mom with dinner. She was making arroz con pollo. Mmmm good! And so Jeremy was going to come over to eat with us. Another culinary adventure! Only this one is yummy. Especially with the green olives (unless you ask Lea... Hahaha). After dinner, Jeremy and I sat out on the front lawn and read part of the Ensign together. Then he headed home around 8:15. And I headed to Melanie's, got a shower, and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Monday I slept until 9:00. Or maybe I got up at 8:30. I can't remember. Either way, I headed to the house and made sure I had extra clothes to take to the family get together. Jeremy arrived a bit before 10, and we loaded up and headed out. Sometimes longish car rides are awesome :). We were the first to arrive at Jeremy's parent's house. But then we went over to his brother's house to help load up some stuff they were bringing over. So I got to meet some nieces and nephews and his brother and sister (in-law). Very fun people! (And I'm not just saying that because they read my blog ;)... I really did feel totally welcome and at ease, even when she was getting the nitty-gritty on how Jeremy and I met ;)). It's an awesome story, after all :). After about 1.5 hours there (and a broken scent bottle -- or was that a toilet? -- later), we headed back to Jeremy's parent's house. By then his oldest brother had arrived, so I met him. And then, pretty much immediately, the water fight began. Which brought into play that very cool water fight "tool" Jeremy constructed out of tubing, pens, and wire. Those were definitely the hit -- and for good reason! Talk about ammo! I got officially soaked. Completely and totally soaked. Right down to my shoes. But it was so much fun!! And okay, so my aim isn't awesome when I'm getting sprayed in the eyeballs with water... But I'm still one cool chica! :). It was funny, because his mom told me later that she had told her husband that she knew I'd be right in the middle of the water fight. I'm prissy, it's true. But mostly only about food and plumbing. (I don't do no indoor plumbing ;)). Oh, and flying bugs and snakes. I think that's it. At some point in the midst of all the water flying, I met another sister (in-law) when they arrived. His family really is quite fun, and it didn't feel awkward at all. Jeremy asked me if I was nervous, and you know... I wasn't nervous at all :). And I had the best time. I even learned a lesson for next time: bring goggles. Hahaha. Only now that I've shared it with the world, it won't give me the leg-up by being super-secretive... Anyway, so then the food was ready. There was so much food! So. Much. Food. I don't think I got to sample everything I would have liked to. Oh well. But I did get a lemon bar. I do love lemon bars :). Jeremy and I headed out around 6:15. But not before a group picture and a few more laughs. Which included facebook discussion, cream of the crop, mosquito sounds, and more... There really is something fun about being around family. Mine is the same way when we all get together. Just sharing and remembering and laughing. It's priceless. It's why the quote from that Sunscreen song remains among my very favorite: "Be nice to your siblings: they're the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future." So yeah, Jeremy and I enjoyed our longish ride home. And though it is never fun (understatement) to say good-bye and go our separate ways, we eventually did. We both had work today. Boo.

And okay, so I got spoiled. Four days off of work. Three of those days with a wonderful and amazing person (that's Jeremy, in case you were curious ;)). Only to get to Tuesday and get none of that?!? Yep. Lame. So I had to go in to work about 10 minutes earlier than usual to make up the extra time I didn't earn for being off yesterday. Plus I only get 30 minute lunches this week. So worth it. And yep, pretty much from the get-go the people of the county were annoying me today :). And so were my allergies. So much for my chaffed nose getting a break. Man it hurts! I wasn't in a bad mood. Just not in a mood to deal with the silliness. To put it mildly. But I did. And I stayed steadily busy all day. To include typing up minutes from 2 meeting last week. Almost done. But tomorrow I will go to another meeting. With more minutes. After work I picked some strawberries (I have thoroughly enjoyed my strawberries I've been picking :)) and then walked with Sue. Warm day. Had wet shoes, so I didn't exactly wear appropriate ones. But it's all good. We had a good walk. Then I ate dinner (homemade mac and cheese), got a shower, spent a few minutes brightening my day via phone, and then sat down to blog away! So yeah, I know it's a long one. But I had such a great weekend. And it's for posterity, after all ;).

P.S... Forgive the wonkiness of the changing font. I don't know what's up. Copy and paste, apparently. Sometimes blogger annoys me.