My Labor Day 2012

Some people use the long weekend of Labor Day to enjoy one last hurrah before saying goodbye to summer.

I picture happy families grilling out by the lake with a hammock in the background. And a dog. There's always a dog. Usually a Labrador.

None of that customary, bland nonsense for me! No sir!

I spent this Labor Day calling 911, mentally reviewing my CPR basics, cleaning up puke & poop & counting the ceiling tiles of DeKalb Regional Hospital.

To sum it up....
Grandmother (the one I live with as her caretaker, henceforth referred to as 'Bud') was fine one minute, scary sick the next. A press of her Life Alert button (and a quick call to Mom) brought EMT's and an ambulance while Mom & I were working with Bud & praying like nobody's business. This was scary stuff. At one point Mom was holding her wrist CHECKING FOR A PULSE while I was in her face trying to get her to talk to me.

Fast forward to ER....
Bud is scanned from head to toe and been given lots of meds to calm her stomach & ease her dizziness. (I told the EMT's & ER peeps I thought it was vertigo. This will be important later.)

13 hours later....
We are STILL in the ER & have not been seen by a doctor. Nurse practitioners are great, but can I get a freaking MD in this place???

Sometime later...
Bud is FINALLY admitted (still no doctor has even looked at her) and we are told a doctor will see her tomorrow. The nurses were sweet & very attentive on a positive note.

Saturday...
What do ya know? A real, live doctor graced us with his presence! We felt honored pissed that after a mere 25 hours from arriving by ambulance Bud finally gets seen by someone who has $200K in student loans. He ordered more tests.
On a side note we watched Bama whip Michigan so that was neat. Roll Tide.

Sunday...
Turns out those guest chairs in hospital rooms are very cozy to sleep in. Wait, am I halucinating from lack of sleep & searing back pain? Yes. Ok, they must be well-disguised torture devices made by people who hate human spines.
All results come back negative which is good. No heart attack or stroke. All signs point towards vertigo. *cough* told ya *cough*

Monday...
Bud enjoyed some broth, ice chips & a hearty dose of meds. Lots of naps followed. We were told she might be busting outta there tomorrow but that may just be a nasty rumor. She graduated to mashed potatoes & boiled chicken which she ate with gusto! Somewhere in this mix my sweet Judd came in & we made several types of jell-o, broths, rice & pudding to greet the patient when she came home.

Tuesday...
I had clients that were coming in from out of state so I had to go to work while Mom stayed with Bud. I literally squealed when Mom's text read, "We're coming home!"

And THAT folks is how you have an exciting Labor Day.

This Just Pinned!

My top 5 pins for this week.

#1 - Changeable Mantel
This one is a Christmas theme using felt snowflakes from the DOLLAR STORE & double-sided tape. I aspire to be this kind of homemaker, changing things around for the seasons & then posting nauseatingly adorable pics on facebook & such so that others feel jealous inspired. pin

#2 - Game Day Dresses from T-Shirts

I'm gonna need to pilfer through the Mr.'s gargantuan Alabama t-shirt collection & go all Martha Stewart to whip up a fancy game day dress that is a bit more than what I've found. Too many are a plain crimson dress with a Bama "A" stuck on it so they can jack up the price to $60. Bonus: the Mr.'s shirts are all 100 years old & have been washed a zillion times so they are super soft! pin

#3 - Easy Nail Art with a Bath Poof!

This is SO CUTE! Maybe a lighter color for the base? Black is a bit goth for my taste. Maybe a dusty pale pink or a soft grey? Oh, and nix the ghetto fabulous rhinestone.

It reminds me of Sally Hansen polish strips in fishnet stockings but I'm not about to pay $10 for some stickers. Sheesh. pin

#4 - NO MORE STINKIN SANDWICHES!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a nice Dagwood as much as the next gal but sometimes I just get to the point where I cannot ingest another freaking sammich!!! This link has hundreds of ideas that will keep me from eating 2 Cliff bars, dry cereal, half a thing of Tic Tacs & a stale Milky Way something else for lunch. pin

#5 - Metallic Paint to Transform Old Furniture

When the Mr. & I set up house (hopefully before I'm too old & decrepit to do any of this crap) I would love to transform our mismatched furniture into Pottery Barn-esque pieces such as this.pin

THIS JUST PINNED!

I have a new obsession: pinterest. It satisfies several of my quirks at once: crafty things, organizing into groups & planning for future projects.

This is what I've pinned today:

I love really great photography, especially if the subject is edible. To me, it's FOOD PORN! This pin is a quick reminder of set up and proof that you don't have to have a fancy DSLR (but I NEEEED one!) to take great photos.

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One day I imagine myself all June Clever-esque with my happy little ones tugging on my apron strings. Whilst in my pearls I hoist them atop the counter to help me make magical things such as this edible chocolate play dough.

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I love organization. Ok...my OCD loves organization, the rest of me is a pig. Anywho...this is brilliant & I already have a little sandwich bag full of these bread tags to label all of my cords like a pro. Sadly, I can't find said baggie BUT as soon as I do I'll be a bread tagging fool!

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This looks delicious. I've made galettes with apples many times but never peaches. Only one minor change...I'd have to peel the peaches. Jenn doesn't eat fuzz. I'll save this one for later since I'm on a diet & have a fridge full of beautiful, colorful, doesn't-taste-like-a-Big-Mac-but-I-can-dream veggies to prove it. I'll file this one away in my FOOD PORN section. Don't judge me.

 

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I FREAKING LOVE FALL! And this wreath is beautiful. It sells at Williams-Sonoma (swoon) for $100 and the tutorial says they made it for $25. I bet I could best them & crank one out for about $10. Suckers.

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Hi. My name is Jennie. I have Misophonia.

brief pause

(group all together) "Hi Jennie."

 

 

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xoxo,

Jenn

Food Porn

I have dreams about food a lot. Either my foodie tendencies flow into my subconscience or maybe it's the fact my tv is on Food Network 90% of the time.

Actually, it probably has something to do with the fact that I read cookbooks before bed like novels.

These are just some of the characters that made it into last nights dream.

Behold: FOOD PORN

Things I am Thankful For

* Jesus Christ died for me and I have a home with Him in Heaven.

* I get to buy my precious nephew his very first 'big boy Bible.'

* I get outbid on the eBay things I really don't want anyway.

* Lite 96.9 plays all Christmas 24/7 from Thanksgiving until New Year's.

* My freckles will forever make me look younger than I really am.

* I can actually feel the love of my close friends.

* Cherry candy canes are only 99 cents.

* I know how to knit.

* Life here on Earth is short, the pain is only temporary.

* I know how to drive a straight shift.

* My turkey was picture perfect this year.

* My family trusts me to be the caretaker for my Grandmother.

* When I tweet, I feel like a celebrity.

* Redbox movies.

* A boss who asks how I am and genuinely wants to hear my response.

* Alabama football.

* Harry Potter.

* I have so many good books to read it's hard to pick one to start with.

* Being told I'm beautiful by someone who's not related to me.

* Friendly dogs.

* Hershey's with almonds.

* Good tires.

* Dates where you have the best time not really doing anything at all.

* High speed Internet.

* Sonic Ice.

* Getting the 'thank you' wave when letting someone in front of me in traffic.

* Making it through to the other side of the hardest year of my life.

* Looking more like my Mother every year.

* Gadsden is only 45 minutes away.

* Sunday afternoon naps.

* I have a retirement fund.

* Knowing Doondaddy is listening.

Just give me my free crap and back away, slowly

I opened my e-mail the other day to find a printable coupon for a free burger at Ruby Tuesday's for my birthday.

Awww. I didn't know they cared so much!

Today's e-mail had one for a free appetizer from Sante Fe so I started thinking, I wonder how much crap I can get for free just for being born?

Below is The List. Consider it my early/late/on time birthday present to you since I had to link each one individually. You could literally gorge yourself right on to Biggest Loser. You're welcome.

Wondering what present you can get for me? I would love for you to NOT take me to any of these places and have them clap out of sync to some nauseating song with nonsensical lyrics. Capiche? Thanks, it's just what I wanted.

Free scoops at Cold Stone Creamery, Baskin Robbins and Dairy Queen

Free appetizer at TGIFriday's

Free burger/sandwich at Red Robin and Firehouse Subs

Free dessert at Applebee's and Quizno's

Entire meals free at Captain D's, IHOP, Tony Roma's, Zaxby's and Taco Bell

Free birthday swag at Sephora (one year it was 3 lip glosses, another it ws 2 nail polishes), Krispy Kreme (coffee mug & 1/2 dozen donuts!), Academy Sports ($5 gift card) and Victoria's Secret ($10 gift card).

Sonic gives away anything from a free burger to a shake to tater tots and you can get 5 free wings at Wingstop.

I just missed the age cut offs for these by a few years (ok, decades) but they're still fun: Denny's, California Pizza Kitchen, Burger King, Ace Hardware Kid's Club and Toys R Us will give you a balloon, crown, birthday announcement over the intercom and mail you a card from Geoffery! Sweet deal.