Over it

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Over the last few months (aka since January) I've been suffering from chronic ear infections. Now the last time I had one of these things I was in elementary school, so to say I'm not amused is an understatement.

Because of these ear infections the doctors are always quick to give you antibiotics and send you on your way. This is all fine and dandy, until you've gone through 2-3 different antibiotics with your primary care person and then they throw their hands up and say "I don't know!" and send you to a specialist.

• So I've been seeing the specialist for a few months (probably April). After a few more types of antibiotics (and supplementing with probiotics so my body doesn't freak out) I've learned a few things.



• Probiotics only get you so far. Your body will do what it wants....period.



• You will learn very quickly if you are allergic to something. Found out the hard way that I'm allergic to sulfa and then proceeded to freak out when someone told me they had the same allergy and also couldn't drink red wine because of it.

There is a horrible bacteria you can get if you take to many antibiotics.

That last bullet point? SUCKS SO FREAKING MUCH. I started having problems last weekend (thank me because I will not do the TMI thing here) and by Wednesday I called the dr. thinking "hey, this probably isn't good and let's chat". The long and the short of it is they told me to get my butt to the emergency room as soon as I could...and by the way you can't drive yourself on the off chance you pass out. Woot.

Luckily M came home a little early so we headed out...and sat waiting for about 45 mins because people kept coming in with more important things than mine. Despite the annoyance I guess a heart attack is a little more important. :-) 4 hours later I'm full of fluids and finishing off the finale of The Voice in a hospital bed, but I got to go home, so that's the most important part. Well, that and I was told I was highly contagious.

So here I am, thankfully with a company that will let me work from home for a few days. Well, and alternating with cleaning the house from top to bottom because you don't want anyone else getting the stuff. But the weirdest thing of all? Using too many antibiotics gives you a horrible strain of bacteria that's cure is what? ANOTHER ANTIBIOTIC.

What's worse, an antibiotic that doesn't let you have even a sip of alcohol. That's right, no wine, cough syrup or even certain mouthwashes because it could make your heart do crazy things. Thanks so much world, for giving me this for 4th of July weekend. Fan freakin' tastic. Well, that and the super bland diet I'm on right now. The only "spice" I'm allowed is salt, and salt is nasty. I've cheated a little, a tiny bit of salsa on my eggs & a little cheese on some pasta.

I have to say, this is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Never felt so sick in many many years. But I'm on the mend, and headed to Seaside, OR for a few days. I've missed a good day at the beach.

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Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings & what sound bees make

With all the controversy surrounding Google Buzz I haven't really known what to think about the system. It really seems like a mix of Twitter, Facebook & Google Reader but there certainly are parts of it I do like. I do like the fact that if you put your blog in your profile you can find blogs you didn't know existed. I have some IRL friends who I didn't know they blogged at all. I guess that could be a double edged sword for some, but don't put the information if you don't want it out there.

What I love the most is the "people you follow" section in Google Reader. I never utilized this before and by "following" people in Buzz it's opened a whole new world to me. Jamie Lovely shares some of the awesomest (is that a word?) posts and I've found some new blogs because of her. I also like how all the shared items show up in the Buzz timeline as well.

Here is my list of new blogs or things I've discovered in the last few weeks that make me extremely happy.

Green Wedding Shoes - No, I'm not getting married but I love everything about this blog. The photos, the ideas that can be used for ANYTHING and yes...when the marriage thing happens I'll be prepared.

Eat Drink Chic - Everything about this blog is awesome. I came for the DIY origami heart love note and stayed for so much more.

Aria - I'll be going to Vegas soon for the first time and staying in this hotel. The BF's company did work on the City Center and since I've heard all about it for so long I want to see it in person.

Seattle sunshine - We all know the reputation Seattle has and it's not for the great music. It's all about the rain and although most of the country is covered in snow we've had one of the most beautiful winters ever.

The Millionaire Matchmaker - Ok, I watched this show off & on last season but I finally set up a season pass on the DVR and surprise! The BF is addicted too. We spent last Sunday watching a marathon when I felt crappy.

What have you discovered lately or made you happy?

Because you're worth it.

I have what people call the kind of hair that they want. I don't understand it, but typically everyone wants what they don't/can't have. My hair?

• Long - hits right about the middle of my breasts
• Fine - a little flat naturally but there's a ton of it (does well w/volumizing products)
  
• Straight - just a hint of wave that goes away by blow drying and can be played up when it's shorter

The problem with this type of hair is that it takes FOREVER to dry in the morning. Seriously, I'm flipping my head upside down, to the left, to the right and even sectioning it off in hopes to speed up the drying time. That is until this morning.

Yesterday I twitted that my hairdryer up and died on me. I hoped to fix it, I opened it up and looked around with no success. So I headed to the store in hopes to find something. Nothing too pricey, I didn't want to spend oodles of $$ on it, but I knew you should at least spend a little.

Isn't this thing pretty?!?! I love red so yeah, I was a little drawn to it, but holy crap this thing works! Not only do I not have frizzy hair today (this has been a big problem recently) but it dried quickly! Best thing ever, this hairdryer retails for $36.99 and I got it for $24.99. Not bad at all.

In other news, I hope to be out of the office by noon today to make the trek to Seaside, OR for the 4th of July weekend. If you haven't been before you're definitely missing out. It's a small little beach town that has stood the test of time. I'm crossing my fingers to be having breakfast at the Pig 'n Pancake, drinking wine at Yummy Wine Bar & Bistro, spending time out in the sand & seeing some great fireworks.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

It only took about a month

Hey all! I bet you forget I even went to Mexico last month because I never did the post complete with photos. Oh no, I'm finally doing it and it's gonna be fun. So hold on to the person next to you, I hope it's not a bumpy ride!

When we first arrived in Puerto Vallarta it was right after the immediate threat of the swine flu. You know, it was all over the news, none of us knew what it was about and the media did it's job of scaring us senseless. But the wedding was still on and the 8 of us were determined to go. Thankfully enough PV wasn't really hit by this swine flu nonsense, but that didn't stop the security areas from asking all kinds of questions and special temperature sensitive cameras to check and make sure we didn't have a fever. But despite all this, we made it to our destination...Villa Suzannah. This photo? This is the view from the pool area. We were overlooking the Mismaloya beach area.

When we first arrived our hostess (ie: the bride to be) made sure that there was all kinds of treats waiting for us. Chips & fresh made salsa and guacamole, a stocked fridge full of beer and all kinds of tequila and mixed drinks at our disposal. We found out that one of the couples coming (from CA) had some sort of passport issue and would be there at the earliest of the next day so our job was to chill out and have all kinds of fun.

And fun...we definitely had.

Faces blurred/smudged to protect the not so innocent.

The next morning we decided to trek down to the beach below and see if it was as fun as it looked like. We were staying in this beautiful place but it was towards the top of a very steep hill and it wasn't until a few days later we realized we could walk down it just fine (but not up). So a taxi was taken and we decided to spend a good portion of the day down below.

This was a perfect day. I spent my time lounging in a chair, drinking strawberry daiquiris and wading in the water. Well, that and fending off all the people trying to sell me jewelry, blankets, dresses and every other thing you could think of every five seconds.

My view on the beach and my current desktop wallpaper.

Later on the missing couple showed up just in time and we had dinner at the villa. Seriously, the chef at this place is beyond AMAZING, everything he made I wanted to gobble up ten fold. That night we had crazy dance party at the villa (aka round 2) with the new couple.

The next day was all about the soon to be happy couple. They had to head to the courthouse to do the "official ceremony" before the pretty one. You know, the one with witnesses and signing documents (*cough* remember that stuff Heidi & Spencer?) and the bride's parents came into town. M and I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch (and to buy a PV bear for his mom) and we experienced our first water taxi ride.

Little ol' me

Friday was all about the fishing expedition, one of the few activities we booked before arriving in PV. We were on the most beautiful boat and we out all day long but didn't catch a single fish! On top of that this was also the day that I got seriously sunburned. I forgot to put sunscreen on my face AND accidentally fell asleep outside for an hour so my poor face was fried. It felt like I was attacked by the botox shot in my forehead. The good news though was we saw dolphins!

Can I take them home with me?

Now on Saturday...this was the big day. It was time to prep for the wedding with mani/pedi's overlooking the view, a little beach time and of course the wedding!

The ceremony (love the bouquet!)

The toast!

Afterwards there was of course the reception. Check out what the restaurant did for us! They brought the dining experience outdoors by the pool.

We were going to have a 7 course tasting menu. Sounds good in theory, right? Sure it is, if all the portions are small. But we started with a shot glass full of something and each course afterwards was a little bit bigger. By 5 and 6 we were dying, a full fish meal followed by filet mignon? Normally sign me up but my stomach didn't know what to make of it. We didn't even eat the wedding cake until 2 days later.

So once recooperated from the festivities on Sunday we went to the flea market...along with Monday. I could spend all kinds of time in those, I'm apparently a master barterer. I got deals that the rest of the group had their jaws dropping from, I don't know what it is. Later on we stopped in a restaurant for a "cocoloco". Basically it has all kinds of random alcohols in it, but the best part is it's in a real coconut!

But also on Monday we went to Tony's, this restaurant that unless you know about it you'll never find. It was actually close to the villa but an employee at this big chain hotel down the way told us about it. Apparently there was some big travel agent retreat going on in their restaurant for the night so they were closed. But we made the trek to this place.

Think of walking through this run down area, turning the corner and assuming you'll see it but all you see is this super run down house. You get anxious because if you ate there it would obviously kill you. But then you realize...you're not there yet and arrive at this cozy 3 story house with sand covering the floor. They bring out the menu, this big platter of steaks and seafood and you want absolutely everything. The food here was so good we ate there the final two nights of our trip. Even better, we met Tony!

Say hi to Tony! And my horrible sunburned face.

On the final day we basically just chilled waiting for everyone's plane's to take off. For some reason each of us had a completely different time to depart so until it was time we hung around the pool, read a little and prepared for the trip home.

Hanging out on our balcony.

I hope you made it through all this in one piece. If you ever get the chance to visit Puerto Vallarta I have to recommend you take it. For my first time in Mexico it definitely makes me want to go back.

I'm Back!

At least for a little bit. Fantastic time was had in Mexico and there will be a post soon enough about all the details but in the meantime I'm letting you know I'll be out of town (again). This time the destination isn't nearly as exciting as Puerto Vallarta (it's Yakima, WA) but it will be just about as warm but with not nearly the humidity.

Randomly, does anyone else love Lady Gaga's "Starstruck"? Apparently my copy of The Fame didn't have this song and through the wonders of Pandora Radio I've found a new favorite.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

"Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet"

Although the whole point of a blog is to post, I'll admit that the fact this blog had 23 posts before this one had me not wanting to post ever again. Crazy? Probably. But 23 is one of my favorite numbers (the only one beating it out is 9 for reasons that will make you think I actually AM crazy) and I was a little superstitious.

But let's just go with it, shall we? Thanks to all of you who commented on the office supplies post, I had no clue that there were so many of you who feel the same way about them. :-) I think we all need crocodile staple removers in our possession.

Last weekend wasn't nearly as exciting as some of yours out there. I mostly did laundry and made to-do lists for packing...throwing in a little Mother's Day celebration at my mom's place. BTW - she is awesome, even though she stresses out like crazy (hmm, that might be where I get it from!) but she puts on a great spread. We had a brunch fit for champions - strada, homemade hashbrowns, blueberry muffins (from scratch), bacon, sausage, fruit x3, mimosas etc. I ate entirely too much and suffered for it the rest of the night.


But here I am today at work, finishing up the last of everything I can before I head to vacation in Puerto Vallerta! I'm stressed out over the packing and the excitement of it all. Anyone else do that? The first time I was to see Phantom of the Opera I made myself so sick from the stress I couldn't go. My mom didn't tell me we were heading to Disneyland until the night before for that very reason. But here I am trying to pack early so I don't freak out and it's having the opposite effect on me.

I'm still surprised work is letting me go on said trip. I've only been with them about 2 months but they're letting it happen since I mentioned it when I was interviewing. We've had this vacation on the books for about 9 months and I'm going to make it the best ever. A week with sunshine, great friends, a wedding and all kinds of food & drink. I don't think it could be better than that. Well, unless I stopped stressing out. But I have my books for the trip/plane ride (Jen Lancaster's "Pretty In Plaid" and Dooce's "It Sucked and Then I Cried") and an awesome boyfriend to calm me down.

I doubt I'll be posting in the meantime so everyone have a fantastic week!