This is a Spinal Tap

Guess what happened to me over the weekend?

My husband and I were partaking in a little afternoon delight on Sunday when, let's just say at the "point of impact" my head felt like it exploded. Seriously. I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, I couldn't see straight and I couldn't stop writhing in pain. It was insane. I really didn't want to go to the hospital for obvious reasons. (Reason number one being how it happened.) After a couple of hours I started to talk straight and walk around a bit but I couldn't stop vomiting. That's when I agreed to go to the hospital.

The ER doctor said I had all of the symptoms of a hemorrhage or an aneurysm. Great. So I got right in for a cat scan (found nothing) and then they gave me a spinal tap right there in the ER room! I couldn't believe it. I always thought that a spinal tap was really serious and they had to knock you out and put you into surgery and all that stuff. The nurse helped me arch my back (cat pose for those yoga people out there) and the doctor sat behind me and took fluid out of my back. And I actually saw my spinal fluid. It was very clear and they said they were looking for traces of blood because if my brain was bleeding it would show up in there. After 2 hours of testing it in the lab (found nothing) they sent me home with a prescription. This morning I woke up and it started all over again.

I don't want to go into too many graphic details, so let's just say that after a rough start this morning and finally getting my scripts filled I started to feel much better by this afternoon. I'm still a little groggy and fuzzy with a slight headache but other than that I'm tons better than I was, say, this morning.

I still can't believe I had a spinal tap. I'm sure it will finally hit me when I get the bill.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Y'all

I'm Irish and I used to love St. Patrick's Day but when you don't drink it is somewhat of a pointless holiday. I've searched high and low for a way to celebrate around here but everything seems to be all about the green beer and getting drunk. It's interesting to me how such a negative ethnic stereotype can be so widely celebrated in this country and nobody bats an eyelash.

So go out and rent The Quiet Man today or be sure and catch it on one of the multiple cable channels that always play it today. It's the classic Irish movie and John Wayne's character has my last name. So there. There is my obligatory Irish post of the day.

Mmmm....Grapefruit.

I was flipping through an old issue of Real Simple Magazine the other day and discovered a new way to prepare grapefruit. Slice the grapefruit in half like normal, then stick it under your broiler for 3-5 minutes. The broiler carmelizes the juices, thus sweetening it. It's delish! And no sugar added!

I've come to a stand still on the weight loss thing. Anything yummy and healthy is sounding good to me right now.

I've also noticed that every product and their brother is becoming grapefruit scented, especially houshold cleaners. Not my personal favorite but it's got to be better than lemon.

Like Crack on Speed

Have you seen this stuff?? It's Coke's answer to energy drinks. I got 2 free bottle at the store last week and I am hooked. The catch phrase on the bottle says "drinks like a soda, kicks like an energy drink." Granted, I get more buzzed up on the diet than I do the regular (it's the sugar that knocks me out) but boy, is my house getting clean AND organized. I literally have been going to the fridge every couple of hours or so, take a few shots and then I'm off again. (There is no way I could drink a bottle in one sitting.) I've never tried the energy drinks before and now I'm wondering why I hadn't. (trying to eat and drink better, I guess.) My friend says it is much cheaper than Red Bull so there is your frugal tip of the day for ya. Vault is cheaper than Red Bull.

Postcards From Florida

There were 2 postcards in the mail yesterday from my parents in Florida. The Key Lime Pie recipe was mailed to me while the other one was mailed to my husband.

It says "I was going to send you a card with a picture of a nude, big-boobed girl laying on the beach. Mom nixed that. Love, Mom and Dad".

Nice.

Is Nothing As It Appears To Be?

Yesterday I learned that hipster author JT LeRoy is actually a 40 year old woman by the name of Laura Albert. Ya know, the whole story sounded fishy to me from the beginning. A teenage cross-dressing prostitute who's own mother (who's not much older) pimps him out to truckers at truck stops? Hmmm....and that whole trend of wearing a raccoon penis bone around your neck kind of creeped me out. I actually broke down and read the book "Sarah" a few years ago and I have to say I wasn't that impressed.

I also learned that Sophie Kinsella, the author of the Shopaholic series, is not who she appears, either. Of course I can't find anything on the 'net about it, but when I was in Borders yesterday a brand new book by the same author was out with a quasi explanation that is was the same author only she's using her real name know. Err.....O.K. If you say so.....

I wonder how Oprah feels about all of this.

The best news I've heard all week is that the first season of Dharma and Greg is coming out on DVD in June (It's one of my all time favorite TV shows) and that Norah Jones' band The Little Willies finally have an album out and it rocks. Yee-haw!!

The Mother of All Thrift Store Finds (according to my husband)

Patience is a virtue, people. I can't seem to say it enough around here. For example, since Christmas my husband has been talking about buying the Monty Python's Flying Circus Collection. (Now he's saying he was planning on renting them but I'm not so sure. ) Monday I was in one of my most favorite Salvation Army stores when what did I see before me? The complete first and second set. Granted, it's on VHS but who cares? I ended up paying $2.99 per set. And I made my husband's day. Patience is a virtue, people.

Those of you who were in Windsor with me over the summer might recall my discovery in the Lewiscraft store of colored glue sticks. I'd never seen them before so I was giddy with excitement. I ended up not getting them because they were sort of pricy and I had no idea what I was going to do with them. Guess what I found at the dollar store a month later? Not only did I find colored glue sticks, but I also found colored glue sticks with glitter. The glitter made it well worth the wait.

So that's something we are working on around here. Being patient. And that patience is a virtue.

And that instant gratification will lead us nowhere but the poor house.

Guess What's Coming to Michigan??

After a whole bunch of political bru-ha-ha, IKEA is finally going to make an appearance in Michigan. Halle-freakin'-lujah. It's about time. I'm sure I'll be there opening weekend.

The Worst Oscars Ever.

I'll admit it, I like to watch the Oscars. I've always wanted to have an Oscar party but living in the the Eastern Time Zone puts a damper on things. (I don't know too many people who could stay up that late on a Sunday night and still make it to work the next morning.) So yesterday I decided to have an evening of "glamour"- I dyed my hair, my husband trimmed it, I put on a face mask, gave myself a pedicure, etc. It was a lot of fun but next time will work out a whole lot better if I could put a TV in the bathroom.

The show began and as the opening minutes ticked by the more painful it got. (At 10 minutes I begged for it to be over with.) Jon Stewart was absolutely awful and I like the man. In the first few minutes I learned that Mr. Stewart is a big time Republican and thinks Hollywood is completely out of touch with the real world. Nice. Why would a man stand on a stage in front of his peers saying they are out of touch with the world? Oh, and you aren't? I just think all of the negativity against Hollywood should have been checked at the door of the Academy Awards. (Don't get me wrong, I think Hollywood is out of touch, too. I just wouldn't stand on a stage and tell them to their face on the biggest night of their lives.) He even made a lot of negative statements that went absolutely nowhere. As in, he said "I don't know where I'm going with this." Wow. Shouldn't you have planned that a little better?

And what was up with the music playing while the winners were trying to give their acceptance speeches? It was soooo annoying!!!! When the camera finally panned back for a full shot you could see that the orchestra pit was directly in front of them! Imagine standing in front of your peers trying to thank everyone you are supposed to while a band is playing between you and your audience. That's talent. I can't even talk on my cell phone when I've got a radio on too loud in the room.

All in all I was very disappointed. At least Crash won best picture. I was really bummed Dolly Parton lost to the Three 6 Mafia. And if anyone sees mention of how many FCC fines the show got for the numerous uses of profanity spewed out by the Three 6 Mafia I'd LOVE to see it. I highly doubt they will though.

Girl Scout Cookies and Painted Chairs

I almost forgot to mention that last weekend some friends and I went to a Chair-ity Auction and Cookie Celebration at a local shopping center. Over 30 local restaurants and chefs created recipes you could sample using girl scout cookies. We saw lots of cookie crumb crusts and a few of us thought someone might have gotten a little creative and made something that wasn't a dessert but no dice. There was also a painted chair silent auction going on as well. Now, some of you may know that I have always wanted to participate in a painted chair auction but I always seem to hear about them the day before you are suposed to drop off your chair. (That doesn't help me if I haven't even started one.) I actually have an idea running in my head so I think I might get started on it so when the call goes out I'll be prepared.

Project of the Week

The other day I woke up to a disaster in my craft/computer room. The cheap ass organizer I was using to store my fabric completely busted on me. After a few days of searching online and thinking about it I found this cube organizer at Target that seems to be doing the trick. (After hours online it's apparent that everyone has a different idea about storing their fabric.) Anything 2 yards or less got folded up and filed accordingly in the cubes. Less than a quarter of a yard got thrown in the dark purple cube basket in the lower right corner. Anything more than 2 yards got stored in the McCall pattern cabinet or in an entirely different organizer in the room. ( The white cube is quilting cottons only. All others are all over the place.) This was actually a lot of fun at first, now I'm just tired of it and want it to be over with.