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If I had to dictate this blog, it would look something like the title line... Good thing I can type.

I think it's safe to say that I make a "bad" sick person. There are those people who when they get sick just keep plugging away, don't really complain, and thrive quite well when they get sick. I'm definitely not one of them. I much prefer to curl up in a ball, whimper a little if the situation calls for it, attempt to sleep 20 hours a day, and just all around feel sorry for myself during the other 4 hours.

Yesterday, I forced myself to be the "good" sick person. I took my Theraflu (officially the second greatest medication in my mind - right behind Excedrin), drank my peppermint tea (officially the greatest non-medication make-me-feel-better - right in front of OJ), loaded up the car (officially the third worst part of Thanksgiving - right behind cleaning up from Thanksgiving and re-loading the car at the end of the day), and headed over to start putting things in the oven.

I cooked like a monster, underestimated the turkey time by about an hour (oops), but overall everything seemed to come out on top for the most part. People seemed happy, I was well fed, and I would generally call the day a success - except for one small thing (or does it count for two?). My vocal chords. By the end of dinner I was squeaking all over the place, my voice was cracking when I laughed, and I was absolutely exhausted. After spilling a drink and breaking a glass I decided that I had reached my limits as a good sick person...

So I went home without any of my stuff (I didn't have the energy to mess with it last night), walked the munchkin, and headed off to curl myself up in bed. Then I looked at the clock... Congratulations Erin - you made it only 11 hours as a good sick person. It was only 7:00!! Needless to say, my body didn't care so I quickly reverted back to my usual sick person tendencies, curled up with my meds and tea and called it a night.

This morning, squeaking and cracking has given way to ... well, nothing really. A solid attempt to speak results in nothing more than a whisper (maybe a squeak in the middle if I'm lucky) and my throat glands (don't ask me to be more specific - I don't do that anatomy thing) are about the size of large marshmallows. Amazing.

And today is supposed to be Christmas decorating too!!

I don't have one of those weird little mood trackers at the bottom of this thing, but if I did, it would say "frustrated."

(Random note of the day from www.dictionary.com:

1. only a person can be dissatisfied while an abstract thing can be unsatisfied (hunger)
2. unsatisfied implies that a wish, need, or expectation that previously existed has not been satisfied; dissatisfied implies no such prior existence, but simply registers a failure to be satisfied

Huh... I think I knew that subconciously, but never saw it spelled out. Learn something new every day.)

Good Thing I Like My Couch...

Recipe for a great Thanksgiving:

Start with a small helping of pink eye
Add a dash of sinus congestion
Stir until the congestion irritates the throat
Throw in a pinch of an ear infection for good measure
Incubate for two days until chest congestion takes hold and coughing is inevitable

Once the base has been completed, top off with some cough drops and Theraflu, good friends, and a Thanksgiving dinner the sick girl cooked...

I promise, everyone - I washed my hands about a hundred times. :)

Is it over yet?

Today was just one of those days. Nothing was gonna go my way no matter how hard I tried...

You ever get that feeling when you're about to go to bed that something just doesn't feel right? Your body hurts a little more than usual, you feel a little more depleted than normal, and (in my case) your eyes throb just a bit more than you expect. Fast forward to the next morning and you wake up feeling sick. Maybe not stay-home-from-work sick... And maybe not even stay in bed for an extra 30 minutes sick, but just not 100%. This morning I woke up feeling a little less than ideal. Then I tried to open my eyes and realized why. One eye was so swollen and sticky from last night that it wouldn't really open and the other eye felt like I'd just cried for the last 2 hours. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that I woke up with pink eye.

I don't know where it came from... It doesn't look like it will last long because after my shower and the rest of my day it seems to have cleared up for the most part. There is some residual itching and a lot of pressure and swelling, but otherwise the redness has gone away and the goopiness has not returned.

I decided I wasn't gonna let it get me down, though. I've been looking forward to going to Ikea for the last three weeks, ever since I found my future end tables for my living room. They also have some of the best burning taper candles I have ever found and I wanted to stock up for Christmas.

So Nel and I loaded ourselves into the car and headed for Ikea. While we were there, I verified that yes, indeed, these were my future end tables and headed straight for the basement where all of the pick-ups are done. Nel wanted to get a few things herself so we picked up some lanterns and pillows for her and headed for the candles. I found the candles right away ... in a candelabra on display. Needless to say, the sets of candles were nowhere to be found. I looked high and low (and let me tell you - low makes me feel like my eyeballs are attempting to burst out of my head), far and wide, and alas. No candles. I decided to try the oh-so-helpful Ikea salesperson and after standing around for 10 minutes gave up on him and went to find my end tables. As we were walking away he comes running up to inform me that they are in fact sold out (No way!!!) and they expect a shipment either tomorrow or Tuesday. Seriously??? Really?? I missed it by one day? It's so frustrating.

I chalked the candles up to a loss and figured that the true objective for this Ikea mission was end tables anyway so why get into a huff about it? I headed for the loading bay that houses the magic end tables in question and lo and behold... No end tables. You have to be kidding me, right? I decided I wasn't going to muck around this time - straight to my friendly-neighborhood Ikea salesperson. This particular salesperson didn't even have time to blink before he answered me. My question - "Do you have any more of the Hemnes bedside tables in -" then I was cut off by "Black-brown? No. We won't get any in until afte the first of the year." WHAT?? THE FIRST OF THE YEAR??? This is a joke right? I didn't bother to stick around and find out.

I took my $0.59 mugs to the cash register to check out (I had decided I needed those as well) and gave up. Then I got to the register and my mugs rang up for $2.99 each!! I don't know how many readers out there are familiar with Ikea, but if you are spending that much for anything kitchen-esque in the store, you obviously didn't look around much. Glasses average around $1.00 apiece and pans aren't much more than $10. I wasn't about to spend $2.99 for a mug so I put them on the register and blamed the tear I shed on my eye condition.

Stupid Ikea. You ruined my already crappy day. Oh well... Thanksgiving groceries have been purchased and I'm super excited for a holly jolly holiday week. (I hope.)

Only 4 more days until Christmas decorating!!

Someday...

This past week has been interesting.

I've had the fortunate opportunity of seeing how 83 years can change the hearts of hundreds...
I've seen how 57 years can build the lives of a family...
I've seen how 10 days can make people realize what they've always had but never noticed...
I've seen how 5 minutes can make you wish you had a lifetime back...

I hope someday to be the best friend my grandma was...
I hope someday to be nearly the mother my grandma was...
I hope someday people look back and see me as someone who has touched their hearts...
And I hope someday a little girl will look back, shed a tear, and know she'll never have anyone to take my place again.

I love you Grandma. You own a place in my heart that is yours alone...