I can’t believe how rotten a horrible sinus infection can make you feel.  I’ve missed 2 and a half days at work and I have a headache that just won’t quit.  Unfortunately, for us in the midwest, allergies and sinus problems are just part of living here.  I’ve learned to accept the fact that as long as I stay in Indiana I will always have Zyrtec, Tylenol sinus, Claritin, and various assortments of Benadryl stashed in my medicine cabinet in case of an allergic meltdown.  I even tried the sterile saline mist for nasal irrigation and my mom has one of those netti pots she wants to give me.  My good friends mother had allergies so bad she ended up moving to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  After only a few months there, relatives say she looked 10 years younger.   

A while ago my mom and I booked a 4 day cruise on royal caribbean
 to the Bahamas.  My father had just passed away from cancer so I wanted to do something special with mom to help her unwind and take her mind off her sadness.  My travel agent had everything booked and then I lost my job.  I was a mortgage loan processor, interest rates were climbing, so I was let go.  I had to cancel our cruise.  Even though I had the money to pay for our trip I just couldn’t justify spending it on that when I may need it later.  We were disappointed we couldn’t go but I think the next time I plan a cruise I will make it to Hawaii or Alaska.     

Ever have one of those days where its just impossible to drag yourself out of bed in the morning?  As soon as you turn on the bathroom lights you know you should have just went back to bed.  One of the worst mornings I had was when our English Bulldog was sick with diarrhea.  He must have had a stomach or bowel virus because he relieved his digestive irregularities all over the laundry room floor.  He also tends to vomit all over his blanket on a frequent basis.  Despite all of the horrible mornings he has created for us he is such a good dog. 

Last September my good friend, who lives in The Netherlands, came back to the states to marry her Dutch fiancee in her hometown.  She is originally from the U.S. but moved to Holland 4 years ago to be with Marco her soul mate.  They first met nearly 20 years ago when she went to Holland as a foreign exchange student and became forever friends with him.  When she came back home they always stayed in touch, they just had that connection when you know you will stay friends with that person forever.  So, now that they are married American style they are planning a 2nd wedding in his hometown in Holland so they can get married Dutch style.  I’m am truly amazed that she will be able to pull this off.  I could hardly handle the stress and the cost of one wedding and now she will be planning and paying for two.  I can imagine this will cost more than a luxury Breguet watch but more power to her.   

In my 20’s I probably needed high risk life insurance.  Every chance I could I was either snowboarding, wakeboarding, or mountain biking with friends.  My first trip snowboarding to Winter Park, CO I broke my wrist after catching my edge and falling uncontrollably.  I caught my edge again wakeboarding and suffered a whiplash injury that I felt in my neck for weeks.  Luckily I never took any major spills while mountian biking and I always wore a helmet.  Despite the risk of injury with my favorite activities, I was still having the time of my life.    

About 4 years ago my husband begged me for a new television.  And not just any television but a 56″ widescreen with HD capabilities and all the cool bells and whistles that came with it.  We had actually purchased a 52″ model but a mistake at the store landed us the much better 56″ Mitsubishi that now sits in or living room.  So now all the best tv’s are plasma, flat screen LCD panels, and even the fancy plasma lift that hides your plasma tv in a cabinet.  A remote then automatically raises the tv out of the cabinet for viewing pleasure.  I think one of those would be perfect in our bedroom! 

Its unbelievable to me how Britney Spears is being talked about everywhere now.  You can’t turn on the tv, radio, or internet without someone saying something bad about this woman.  The latest rumor I heard was she was out shopping topless.  Now, we all know Britney is not out shopping for communion invitations or anything but shopping topless?  Who sits around and makes this stuff up?  According to E! it was just a rumor and not true at all.  We all know that she has some pretty serious issues but why are people so obssessed with the daily events of her life?  Is Britney trying to keep herself in the limelight by acting insane or do people really want to know all this garbage about her?         

For the longest time I hated Valentine’s Day.  Even when I got valentines day gifts I still thought it was a silly holiday created by greeting card companies in order to keep making money.   What is so personal and special about mass produced greeting cards anyways?  And do Valentine gifts really matter?  I guess for me, they don’t but that is just me.  If it matters to the person you love then why not buy them something special. 

When Lacey moved to Chicago I no longer had my favorite bar hopping, beer drinking soul mate.  She lived walking distance to a favored club spot by all the locals in the city.  It’s a small, artsy, eclectic village nestled right in the middle of a large city where the working weary gather nightly to warm the bar stools
or wear down the dance floor.  She was the skinniest person I knew who could drink anyone under the table.  The second you ordered a drink you were in trouble because from then on it wouldn’t stop for hours.  She would note my beer preference and without asking hand me beer after beer after beer until I begged for mercy.  The night would always end with burritos as big as your head and the sloppy walk back to Lacey’s house.  To this day I still love beer.           

My dreaded insomnia has been rearing its ugly head again.  Ever since I can remember I’ve always had trouble getting my preciously needed sleep.  Unfortunately, life doesn’t stop when you’ve been awake staring at the clock all night because you simply can’t shut down.  The crazy thing is, I can actually function pretty well after one night of no sleep.  When the nights start adding up to 2 or 3 then we start to have problems.  I feel like I’m sleep walking and I get this horrible headache that won’t go away.  As I walked in a fatigued stupor the other day a co-worker behind the reception desk startled me when she asked me what was wrong.  It’s the same answer every time.  ”I’m tired, I couldn’t sleep last night…again.”