Quarantined

I have the flu...

Bridget and her friend Sam apparently felt sorry for me because they made this note for me while they were in school.

This week started out great I was ahead on all of my school work and was rearing and ready to go. By Monday afternoon, however, my body was telling me a different story. I could feel my chest and nose close up and I was very fatigued. By Tuesday morning I woke up at 5 a.m. to get ready for work and felt awful. I got in the shower thinking it would make me feel better but it didn't work. Instead I lied down on my bed and cried. That's right, like a big fat baby, I just lied there and cried. But I got myself back together and managed to get Bridget ready in time for work.

When I finished my wopping one and half hours of working I was wiped out. I went back to bed and called Brent at work. (Yes, I was crying again.) He came home and took care of everything and I spent the next two days in bed. I was officially quarantined. Brent slept on the couch and I was banned from the rest of the house. The only thing I managed to do was cry and take hot showers. My head was throbbing, my chest was burning, all of my muscles were aching, I was sweating and then I would be freezing. It was horrible. I would think I was okay and get up only two seconds later be back in bed crying (again) because I didn't know what was wrong with me. I refused to go to the doctor because I didn't want to get up. I didn't have the energy.

This morning, the third day, I woke up and staggered into the bathroom and actually saw myself for the first time in two days. Let me tell you, I looked hideous. It's a miracle I'm still married. My hair was all over the place from sleeping with it wet. My lips were cracked and peeling from sleeping with my mouth open. And I somehow managed to grow a zit big enough to make any teen drama envious right in between my eyes. I have no idea where that thing came from.

However, I was actually feeling a little bit better. I was so excited that I decided to celebrate by going to Walmart. I know it was selfish not to stay in my cave but I had to get out and it was too cold to walk outside. All I did was walk around just glad not to be in bed. But suddenly I got tired all over again and I cried (again) because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So here I am, drugged up with the cheap version of Nyquil typing up my blog. My lungs are still ratteling but I'm alive and I can actually see the end of the tunnel. One day I will feel normal again, and I will never take being healthy for granted ever again!

First Day

This picture was taken during the Democratic National Convention that took place on my campus. I didn't take this picture but I chose it because I run into guys like this on campus all of the time and today was my first day back to school after winter break.

The funny thing is it's winter in Denver and there were a lot of shirtless people on campus today due to the weather. The high was 70 degrees, it was awesome! I found out what the forecast was and quickly put on my flip flops because I knew that I would probably be wearing snow boots by Thursday and I didn't want a moment of warm weather to waste.

So this morning I drove to the train station, with my heater blasting on my freezing toes. (It took it a while to get to 70). I was getting ready for my usual commute to school and when I pulled up to the parking lot I was surprised to find that there were actually parking spots available. Usually I have to park at the outlet mall next door and hike my way to the train. Turns out my lucky day wasn't so lucky because a freight train had derailed onto the tracks my train was supposed to be riding on so I had to drive to school. I was a little thrown off because I never drive to school.

Fortunately, I got to school on time for my first class, Culture and the Human Experience. My professor decided to let us hear the inauguration ceremony on the radio so that we could hear Obama make his speach. Now, I'm going to be honest with you. I hate talking politics. I have my opinions but I usually keep them to myself because I'm simply not interested in debating with people. I feel no need to justify how I think, it's a waste of my time. That is why I didn't commentate on the DNC last semester. I didn't even want to open that door. But I do have to say it's exciting being in the middle of all of this history. The energy on campus during that time was thrilling. People were protesting, others were preaching, some were smoking pot simply because the atmosphere must have felt right for that sort of thing. I almost felt like I had been transported into the 60's. It was just crazy.

As I was sitting in class today listening to Obama's speach I felt excited. It was interesting sitting there listening to all of this on the radio. It made me think of all of the people who did this many times, many years ago. They all gathered by the radio and listened to their president speak. It was such a different experience than watching it on T.V. I'm not ignorant but if I see a politician on the television I usually turn the channel. I hate that stuff, but listening to it on the radio today made it so personal. I actually had to listen to what was being said. As I sat there listening with my classmates I felt like I was a part of something. I was participating in history.

I felt like it was a little ironic that today was not only my first day of school but it was also the first day for our new president. As I sat there pondering this thought I was also listening to Obama stumble over his oath and it made him seem very human, endearing almost. I felt like we had something in common. This may sound corny but I revelled in the idea that today was the day of first days and on first days everyone gets nervous. So nervous in fact they may just announce to the class that they are going to pee in there pants...but we'll save that story for another day.

Missing Underwear!

Lost:

1 pair of High School Musical Underwear.

I was doing laundry today and as I was piling up Bridget's underwear I couldn't help but laugh at the situation Bridget found herself in yesterday. When I went to pick Bridget up afterschool I asked her the usual questions.

"How was your day?"

"What did you learn?"

"Who did you play with?"

And I got the usual answers.

"Good."

"Nothing."

"I don't know."

But later as I was making a grocery list Bridget ran up to me out of nowhere and screamed, "Oh Mom you wouldn't believe what happened to me today!" I looked up at her a little surprised by her outburst and she went on to tell me how during school that day she went to the bathroom and as she was walking out into the hall she saw something creeping its way out of the bottom of her pant leg. She said that she bent down to pull it out and found that it was a pair of High School Music underwear that got stuck in her pant leg during the wash. She said that a bunch of 4th graders were lined up in the hall so she stuck it under her shirt real quick to hide it before anyone could see. She walked quickly back to her classroom and when she sat down at her desk she reached under her shirt to find that her underwear was missing!

(At this point we both squealed with embarrassment, feel free to join us.)

So, this morning as I was walking Bridget, and the other kids that I work with in the morning, to class we looked in the hall where her underwear would be and found that someone must have picked it up! At that point we squealed again in the middle of the hall even though the other kids had no idea what we were squealing about. Bridget and I laughed together and I told her that was just the beginning of her embarrassments.

No Frosty.

We tried to make a snowman afterschool...

but it didn't work.

Stupid snowman!

Cookie Update

This Saturday Bridget and I decided to get started on selling her Girl Scout cookies. She has two weeks to reach her goal of selling 450 boxes. (She originally wanted to sell 600 boxes.) She really wants the prizes they win if they sell 450 boxes. So in an effort to be a good parent and teach my child the meaning of setting a goal and realizing it I've decided that I will do all I can to help her reach her goal. But after 3 hours in the freezing weather Bridget and I started asking ourselves why on Earth did they decide to start selling cookies in the middle of winter!?

Oh, so far she has managed to sell 86 boxes. Yay Bridget!

Valentine Room

Ever since the New Year I've been on a major organisational kick. In the process I've decided to go ahead and get out the Valentine decorations. Bridget loves Valentine's stuff because her favorite color is red.
This Saturday I found this bedset on sale at Target and took Bridget to see if she would like to have it in her room. She loved it! She thinks it's her Valentine bed. I told her that this was going to be there all year but I don't think she was paying attention. Let's just hope that she isn't expecting a green quilt when St. Patrick's comes around.

Earthquake

Bridget loves Emily because Emily will let her do anything she wants to do. That includes making her look like Shrek. After this little makeup creation Bridget has decided that she wants to move to L.A. when she grows up so that she can be a make up artist.

The other night I was on the phone with Emily talking to her about a story that I've been writing while I'm on break from school. I sent what I had done so far so that I could get some feedback. Well, while I was on the phone with her she randomly burst out with her panicked "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" The only time I ever hear this is when she's either panicked about a cat jumping out of a dumpster or if we're being chased by a rattlesnake (true story). I asked her what happened and she said, "We just had an earthquake! We totally just had an earthquake!"

L.A. is weird, I told her that this was going to have to go on the list of the most "L.A." things I've ever heard come out of her mouth. Also on the list is a text about the paparazzi surrounding her work building because Britney Spears was in it and the other was when she said that she had a taste of Lance Bass's chocolate martini when she hung out with Lance and his boyfriend at the time. (She's still a major fan of N'Sync, she's hoping for a comeback.)

Gonna Kiss a Boy Named Wad.

Bridget is so sophisticated these days.

This is a picture of her doing her homework tonight.

Today after school Bridget and I went to the library to hang out for a little while. We ended up staying there longer than I had intended. We were having fun taking quizes out of various American Girl magazines and reading about horses. As we were driving home Bridget started asking me when she was old enough to kiss boys. I told her she wasn't allowed to kiss boys until a later date and I would let her know when it was allowed. I was a little uncomfortable and she could tell so she kept pressing on to get a rise out of me. She started teasing me, saying that she was going to start kissing boys tomorrow and I told her that I would cut her hair short like a boy's if I caught her kissing. It became a game and as we drove along Wadsworth Blvd. Bridget announced that she was going to kiss a boy named Wad. We started laughing because I told her that I didn't think that it was a good idea to kiss anyone named "Wad" no matter if you were old enough to kiss or not. I told her that when I heard the name Wad it reminded me of neighborhood boys calling each other butt wads and it made me think of spit wads. Bridget thought that was funny and said that she would call him "Wad Dear" so that

it wouldn't sound so bad.

Snow Day!

This isn't the first time that it has snowed but it is the first time we've gotten a chance to play in it!

Bridget would get so upset because it would snow before school and by the time she got out of school the snow had melted. So today we went out to play!

Scout got run over about ten times but he didn't seem to mind.

Bridget is laughing because she has snowflakes stuck to her eyelashes.

Improvisational snowboarding.

Bridget pouting because she had to take turns with the sled.

Scout wasn't so sure about this. He would rather chase the sled and get run over.

Watch out Betsy Ross!

Sewing on Girl Scout patches.

Bridget has been an official "Brownie" for the past 6 months and she has had such a blast hanging out with her friends while earning her patches. Fortunately for me most of the patches are iron on but there are still quit a few that need to be sewn on. Those patches were placed in an envelope waiting for a later date, never to be determined. I don't sew...well I didn't. While on a trip to Target we found a sewing kit in the dollar spot and saw that as a sign that I needed to fulfill my motherly duty. Bridget knew that I was scared I would mess up but she cheered me on the whole time reading to me from her Junie B. Jones Journal while I slaved away. When I was done she said she was so proud of me. She even wanted to take my picture. She thinks I should get a patch for being able to sew on patches. And I agree.

Next on the Girl Scout agenda?

Cookies.

(That's a whole other adventure.)

Photos Courtesy of Carrie Chapman..You're so great!

A walk in the park.

The weather has been warm so we've been soaking up the sun...and a little dirt too.

My Favorite Author

(Emily on the lightrail with her finished product.)

Once upon a time a long long time ago (well, not that long ago... about 4 years to be exact... I think) my dearest friend Emily came to Colorado to visit me and we took a little trip to Denver on the lightrail. At the time we had no idea what we were doing and didn't know how to buy the tickets for the train. We felt like a bunch of idiots but we finally figured it out and made it to the 16th street mall downtown. We had so much fun that day but it had nothing to do with where we were. Just spending time together and talking about dreams, aspirations and the stories that were in our heads is what made it so fun. It was on this trip that Emily revealed to me an intricate story that she had brewing in her head. It was the most amazing thing that I had ever heard and I couldn't believe that something so complex was running out of my best friends mouth. I was gapping at her the whole time wondering if J. K. Rowling or C.S. Lewis had manifested themselves in front of me and had taken the form of my friend.

Years past and the adventurous quit her job, a couple of times, to travel to some far off place in the world. And each time that she came back she felt the urge to tell her story and to place it on paper. Finally, this summer after she returned from Africa she gained whatever strength she was looking for and was able to finish it. You have no idea how proud of her I am.

I've always teased her by telling her that I keep hanging around because I knew she was going to do something great and I've always wanted to be able to hang on to her coat tails and go along for the ride. I was kidding...but not really. She's amazing and so tonight I finally get to read the novel I've been waiting so long for. It's actually a series, and guess what! I know how it ends haha. So while you guys have to wait years for the books to come out, I know all of the secrets. You have no idea how special I feel and how excited I am to finally be able to read it!

"Auntie Social"

This Christmas we went to Brent's parent's house in Illinois to celebrate the holidays with his family. (Sorry for not posting any Christmas pictures, I'm kind of sick of the Christmas stuff.) We were there for about 5 days and I have to admit I wasn't the best guest.

The night before we left I made the mistake of starting the Twilight series while I waited for our laundry to dry. Needless to say I ended up doing three more loads of laundry just so that I had an excuse to stay up and read. I was hooked. The first book is 498 pages long and I made the miscalculation of thinking that that would suffice during our 5 day stay. By the first day we were there I finished it and I had to know what happend next! Unfortunately, Brent's parents live in a very small town and we were in the middle of an ice storm. No place in town sold any of the Twilight books and the library only had two copies which were already checked out. Poor Ben, my brother-in-law, had to drive me all over town looking for it. I was dying! I felt trapped! I had to get my hands on the next book in the series!

As the day passed the weather started to get better and we were able to make it into St. Louis for the evening. Bryce and Carrie wanted to take Bridget to Build A Bear Workshop, Brent wanted to eat Cecile Witakers pizza (a St. Louis favorite) and I was dying to get my hands on that book! Finally, I made it to a Barnes and Noble. I practically ran to the Twilight section and I could only see one copy of "New Moon", the second book, sitting all by itself waiting to be grabbed. Unfortunately for me, there was a couple standing in front of the section I needed to get to. I shifted to left trying to nonchalantly grab the book but the woman shifted right in front of me. So I decided to manuver myself to the left of them but the man got in my way. Finally I had enough! So I reached in between them, grabbed it, and bolted for the register.

I was acting like a drug addict and my family was starting to look at me like I was a crazed maniac, but I didn't care. As the next few days past everyone had started to notice that I wasn't there. I was in a whole other world. I was even starting to get the nickname "Auntie Social", since I'm expecting a new niece this spring. What was worse, was that I was already starting to freak out because my second book was coming to a close and I knew that I was going to have to have the third book. So on Christmas day I was very pleased to find that Brent had bought me the third book and had it waiting for me to read. I was so happy!

I've finally finished the whole series, a whopping 2,446 pages. I even went to the movies by myself so that I could see the film. That should have gotten it out of my system, but it didn't really. I just have nothing left to devour. So, I'm no longer ignoring my family. But I'm actually sad that it's over for me...for now. Hopefully Stephenie Meyer will finish her fifth book despite the fact that someone already exposed some of it online. As crazy as I am about the series I refuse to read something until I have her seal of approval. I want to read it the way she intended for me to read it...Yep. I'm an addict.