The wierdness that was Sunday night

Alright, one more thing to talk about before bed. Sunday night my brother was to fly home for the first time since he left for boot camp back in May. So my whole family gets together, and we drive to the airport to pick him up. We've got flags and signs all ready to go. We get there a little early, so we all get some Starbucks to tide us over until dinner. Then Mom mentions to me to keep my eye out for someone whom she says is coming to meet David, too. This is the first I've heard of this person. Apparently, he met her through some friends from high school. What friends from high school?? He knew like three people, and none of them are super duper people that I would want to hook my brother up. Anyway, so she's supposed to meet him there too. So now, we're not just looking for him to come around the security corner, but we've also got our eye open for anyone who might look like they are there to meet him, too. NO DESCRIPTION given except that she's his "special friend." What the hell does that mean??

Well, then he shows up. We all give him our hugs and handshakes welcoming him home. We're all also looking around for someone to come up and say hello to him too. Nothing doing. So we head down to the baggage claim and he heads off like a straight shot towards someone I've never seen before. He gives her a hug like he's know her for years. It's really creepy. We all get introduced, but then my sister, brother-in-law, other sister, my husband and I all stand around trying to figure the situation out. First, I decide the girl was smart enough to bring a friend in case he was a serial killer/rapist. Then, I begin to realize this is SO like him. To invite someone we've never even met or know anything about to his homecoming. He'll be home for like two weeks. Couldn't he wait until the next day to meet her in person for the first time??? Oh well.

So it turns out that the girl is Ok. She smokes, and that is a big strike against her. But she does have a job, and she is in school, and she's legal. So these are all good things. Sad when you have to check if your brother's new girl is legal. Says a lot about his previous choices in women. His last girlfriend was a good one, but things didn't work out.

I bet my sister Jessi has already blogged about this topic, and hers is probably way funnier, but that's ok. www.craigandjessica.com/blog

Oprah has been contacted

Well, I went to Oprah's page and submitted my idea for a show. I guess if I have tests before they contact me, I'll just videotape them and let them use that footage for the show. It would be way cool to have a show following the donation process. I'll wait to hear from Oprah's people, and if they want to do the show, I'll try and talk my aunt into doing it. Boy nothing like a million people watching to help you get your aunt to quit smoking so she won't die from lung cancer after you give her your kidney. And Oprah can be mighty influential herself!

I guess I should take some cough medicine and get to bed....

And it's a MATCH!!

So on Friday, Dec 16, I found out that I'm a match to donate a kidney to my aunt. As long as all my testing to make sure that I am healthy enough to donate goes well, I'll be a kidney donor sometime early next year.

I'm so excited that I can help her out. She's my godmother, and she's a great lady. I was so happy to tell her that I am a match. What is so fantastic is that I'm a better match than her own sister. Pretty cool. But I've just had this feeling since I found out she needed a kidney that I would be the one. So I am now doing all I can to insure that I'll be able to donate. I've cut soda out of my diet. I'm only drinking water, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. I'm watching what I'm eating and I'll start exercising when my sore throat is gone.

It's so funny that everyone keeps saying what a great person I am for doing this when my motives are completely selfish. All I want is for my aunt to live happily ever after with a kidney that works. I can do that for her. It means that I get to have her around a lot longer than if she didn't get the kidney.

I wonder if I should contact the Oprah show. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to show what it is like to be a donor?? Maybe more people would be willing to do it when they hear about someone they know who needs help. Yeah, all the testing might be a pain in the butt, and the surgery won't be any picnic, but I'll sleep through that, right?! :) Anyway, I know that Oprah did a show on the Steven Cujokaro guy who got a kidney donated. It might be a good follow-up piece. And hey, if I get to meet Oprah out of it, all the more worth it!!!!! Hmmm.........

Being sick during break sucks!

So, my break started on Saturday. As of Sunday, my throat started feeling a little sore. Then Monday, my throat was super sore. By the end of Monday, I couldn't even talk. Today I was on ibuprofen and acetemetaphin all day to keep the swelling and pain away. I just hate that when you finally get time to relax, you get sick. It sucks. Oh well.

So the reason I'm up so damn late is because I'm coughing and I don't want to keep Ben up. He's working super early this week to cover for a guy at work who usually does the early morning computer server stuff to keep their office running smoothly. I also hate that when I'm sick, I usually end up being up late at night, when I know I should be sleeping but I can't sleep for whatever reason. It's awful.

OK... no more bitching... moving on to happier things.

More kidney stuff

So, Ben and I have decided that the donation is worth doing. Now, I just have to talk with my mom and dad and see what they have to say. My sister Jessica is all for me doing it, as long as I can get my aunt to quit smoking. Which I think is not a bad idea. I wonder if the transplant doctors require quitting as part of their regimen?? It would be nice to get them involved in getting her to quit too. The way I see it is... I've kept this kidney in good shape for over 28 years now, almost 29 years (if you count my time in utero). I don't think it would be unfair to ask her to continue taking good care of it.

Is that wrong to ask that? I mean, technically, I am donating, so does that mean I can conditionally donate? Philosophers, help me out here....

Kidney Donation

OK, so it's been a while, but life has been busy, and I don't always know what to say. But now I've got a topic that matters enough to me to put in writing. My aunt, who is also my godmother, has had kidney troubles on and off for the past ten years or so. Recently it was decided that she needs a kidney transplant. My mother was the first to test to be a donor, but she is unable to donate. So I have now offered to step in and test and donate if I match. Right now we're still in the beginning phases of all this, and my aunt doesn't want me to even start testing unless Ben is behind this, and I wholeheartedly agree. He's going to be the person who will have to help me out and be my support through all of this so needs to be a ready and willing participant.
I want to do this because my aunt is such an amazing person, and I'm close to her. I really don't want her to have to be on dialysis for the rest of her life. As helpful as dialysis is, it also is quite a drain on a person. You have to go three times a week, and it takes hours to go through the process every time. I can't imagine that it's at all comfortable to be on dialysis. So, my line of thinking is, I have two good kidneys (in theory, anyway... apparently, some people are only born with one!), I'm healthy, if I match, I should help her out because I know that she'd be the first in line if our places were switched.
This is such a big thing, and it will interfere with my life, but she's more important to me than my job. The school could easily live without me for a few weeks, and I'm certain that the principal would understand.
Going into surgery is scary, I've been there before. But last time it was because I had to. I am choosing this time. I know that I may not even be able to do this for one reason or another, but I am still trying to think every part of this through. I don't want to be surprised with something that I didn't consider. That is why I am going to be talking this over thoroughly with Ben, my parents and my doctor.
Well, it feels better to have this out there.

It's a Success!!

So the party was a huge sucess, once again! Another year, another ROCKIN' party. The night started out slowly, I wanted people to have time to get here. We all spent time mingling and getting to know one another. I invited many of the guests from last year, and plenty of new guests. About a third of those invited couldn't or didn't make it, which sucks for them because this party was even better than last year.

I must digress... a big reason this party was such a great one is because of Ben. He worked his tail off to get the house in order and fully decorated. He is an amazing party decorator.

Back to the party... we had a candy guessing game, which went well. Someone actually got pretty close, statistically speaking. We also played a game of Halloween Hangman. I think that Ben was a little wary about how it would go over, but it ended up being a lot of fun. We also played an impromptu game of Halloween pictionary as a group.

After a few guests left, we played "Apples to Apples." Then we hung out and laughed until all guests were gone. Many themes for next year's party were discussed. We'll have to see what we come up with... only eleven months and 30 days left to figure that out....

Until then, start thinking about your costume.

Gotta go... trick-or-treators at the door.

Wallace and Gromit Review

I went into this movie with an open mind. Like I said before, I really knew very little about the show W & G, so I didn't know what to expect. I figured it would be mildly funny, much like Chicken Run (made by Nick Park, the same creator of W & G). Boy was I WRONG. W & G was so much more funny than Chicken Run. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is going through some stressful times... the laughter and jokes are so wonderfully healing.

The claymation was good, which I thought would be about right. The story was humorous, and the idea behind the characters' developments was fantastic. There were items that only kids could find truly funny, and there were jokes that only adults would really understand and plenty of funny for the in between.

Tivo and minutiae

OK... so I wrote a big long entry, then it wouldn't publish, and I lost it all... so too bad, you guys lose out, I'm too damn lazy to rewrite it....

Laters!

Tivo and minutiae

Last night Ben and I watched a bunch of shows from our Tivo. It was nice to just sit and watch stuff since we had such a busy week. We caught up on ER, Smallville and a few other shows. What's crazy is the fact that after watching all that, we still have 11 pages of shows!! I think that it's amazing that Ben and I don't weigh a million pounds with all the tv that we watch! It just blows my mind.

Then today, i worked at my part time job, the Challenger Learning Center. We had Girl Scout Juniors, which are upper elementary age. We had a diverse group of girls, and they were spectacular.

So now, I'm with friends (but they're all computer techs, so they're talking about crap that I don't get...) and we're going to go to dinner and see Wallace and Gromit. It looks interesting, and it's something that all my friends are excited about. I never watched the show, so I don't really get the whole wantiing to see it. I'd be plenty happy waiting until it's out on DVD, but oh well.

So, you'll get my review of W & G later. Sorry that this blog wasn't so funny..... Hopefully the next one will be.

If it was going to be anyone...

I'm OK with the Astro's winning. I'd rather that the Cardinals won the Series in their last year at old Busch, but the Astros are nice guys, and they played like winners. They've got a fantastic pitching staff. What else can you say?

Near the end of the game, Ben sent me out for ice cream because apparently I'm bad luck for the Cards. So I get to Cold Stone and they're almost closed. I'm the only customer. There are three workers there. One of them is done for the night and she's trying to find her keys. The guy working whispers to me that he took them and hid them. The other gal working knows this and starts giggling. The girl looking for her keys asks her "What's so funny? Did he take my keys?" The giggler lies and tell her some story about dropping the wrong mixer into the ice cream and having to start from scratch. The guy can't stop laughing. The key girl asks me if he took her keys... I find my way out of answering by avoiding the question. She walks back to the kitchen to keep searching and the guy pulls the keys out and puts them out in plain view. Key Girl walks past them a few times until I point them out right before I leave. She grabs them and asks the guy if he took them. He tells her that he did. She looks at me like I should have helped her out... so I did what I had to... I told her that the other two threatened to spit in my ice cream if I told...

Cards and other things

The Cards are losing 2-0 at the end of the 3rd inning. But I'm having fun posting comments to comments on my own blog. I'm much too easily entertained.

OK, and I just found out that a friend of mine got engaged. I'm super happy for him. I wish him and his new fiancee all the best. I can't wait to meet her! You can read about his engagement at Chris Hammond's Blog . Some of you may not know him, but my sister does and she'll want to read about it and see the pics. It was a very romantic way to do it! Go Chris!! Once again, all the best to Chris and Natalie.

DAMMIT! Mulder just gave the Astros a HOMERUN.... this is NOT good.... I'm closing this out before i cry in front of you all... the CARDS MUST WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Cards!!

OK, so tonight is game 6 of the NLCS. My Cardinals are playing for their survival. But I have faith. They have to win it to stay in it. Jim and Albert and Dave will get it done. I'm sure that Reggie and So will also contribute to the win. The Astros are going down.

I'll blog more tonight when I'm celebrating.

By the Way...

Today is my sister's 26th birthday!!! Everybody should post and wish her a great one! She checks my blog everyday... she'd love to hear from you all!

High School Reunion

OK... so I'm 28... that can only mean one thing... a 10 year high school reunion. And it wasn't just a night of catching up. In my hometown, it's a whole friggin' weekend of activities!! It all started with a happy hour at a local sports bar and grill. Ben and I walked in, and I recognized no one. I seriously wondered if I had not gotten an updated invite or something. Finally I asked the waitress if she knew about a reunion meeting at this bar. She pointed to a group of about four women and a guy. I thought, "Great, we graduated with 386 people, and six showed. I'm a flippin' loser!" Turns out I'm not a loser, just someone who likes to be fashionably late. Everyone else was just chicken and waited forever to show so that they would know someone! I gots me some balls now! Very few people recognized me on sight (OK, two people... that's it.), but once I told them who I was, there was a whole lot of "OH MY GOD" looks. It was great. A couple of drunk guys even said "Holy shit! You look nothing like I remember!" That felt pretty darn great! If only I had a high school picture to post with a current one. I don't think that I look all that different. I think that the big difference is in how I present myself now. I know how to dress for my figure, and I'm confident as all get out. I like myself, and I like how I look. Back in high school I was so not confident. I guess it makes a difference.

Anyway, so then it's Saturday night. Most everyone else has been to the parade, tour of the school and football game. I spent the day working. That night we have dinner and a dance at the local Knights of Columbus hall. Ben and I decide not to show right away since the Cardinals were finishing up a big game. But once we did show, we walk in and there's my ex. Yup, the guy I haven't seen nor talked to in five and a half years. At that point, I figured the night could go one of two ways.... he would be a bastard (not a small possibility) and we'd leave early and call friends to come hang, or he'd be a half-decent guy and we'd hang with a bunch of people I barely know anymore and people that my husband didn't know at all. Luckily, the latter happened, and the night was pretty great. I saw old friends and acquaintances that I hadn't seen in a while, and I really go to show those who thought I was a loser back in high school that I looked better than them for once. It was great.

So, I'll so be going to my 2oth reunion. I'll do my best to make sure that I look great there too. I have a feeling a few of the gals will get some work done and look fake... that would be great...

Professional Development and Shopping

Today my sister attended a professional development conference in St. Louis not far from where I work. It's funny, because yesterday I attended a professional development conference. Both of us went into them thinking that they may be slightly helpful, but came out very satisfied with what we learned. I love it when that happens. When you expect one thing and something better happens. Always a good thing.

Well, then after she finished the conference today, we went to dinner and shop at the Galleria. We ate there, then shopped at Target. We both LOVE that Target. I got make-up and a shirt, and Jessi bought a new outfit.

Well, "My Name is Earl" is on the Tivo... I love me some Earl!!

Chinese food

Yay!!!! Ben and I finally found a Chinese place that he actually likes!! Wait, did Hell just freeze over? I could have sworn I heard Satan's chattering teeth a minute ago....

Anyway, the way that we found this place is because we offered to have dinner with my sister who is in town for work, but she's at my parent's house all alone. So when we called, she said she had already changed into her house clothes and she didn't want to go anywhere, but she wasn't against us picking up some China King and watching "How I Met Your Mother." Ben wasn't super psyched about that, but I told him we'd get him Hardee's on the way from China King to my mom's house. So I called and placed our take-out order, making certain to order extra crab rangoon since Jessi liked it so much, and because that's about the only Chinese that Ben will eat. When we pick up the order, Ben smells the crab rangoon and EATS one while we're in the drive-thru at Hardee's! I believe his statement was, "This is the BEST crab rangoon EVER!!!" So, now he's telling me that we can get chinese whenever. Which is cool by me, because I tend to crave it more often than he's willing to put up with it... he he he

So, now I just have to get our friends to try the food... cuz I really enjoyed the sesame chicken. Plus, the crab rangoon really did rock the hizzy.

Halloween Party

I'm getting so excited about my upcoming Halloween party. I'm always thinking about games that could be played, and today I went shopping for prizes and decorations. I love throwing parties. It's a sick obsession, but you can't blame someone for what they love. I have fun planning it all out, designing and sending the invites, preparing for it, cooking for it and then the actual party itself. People usually end up telling me that the partywas the best they've been to... I just so can't wait.

But I always worry that no one will show. I know that my closest friends will be there, but it's the acquaintances that I always worry about. I hope that people will RSVP and show. I have so many fun plans for games, food, beverages and decorations.

I hope that blogging will ease some of my tensions about this... I think it will. I would also lay out my plans for the party, but I don't want to give everything away, since the only people who probably read this will be people who are coming anyway.

OK, so now it's dinner time... laters!!

So here's my first *REAL* post

I'm doing this from Louisville, KY, where my sister Jessica has been talking nonstop about blogging. She has been doing so for a little while now. So, she's hooked me up with a super simple place to blog, and she even personalized my page for me. "THANKS JESS!!! It looks fantastic... I couldn't (and probably wouldn't) have done this without you!"

Ben and I arrived in Louisville late last night. We pretty much went to bed as soon as we got here. Neither one of us slept very well, but that tends to happen when you're not at home. We slept in a little before getting up and getting ready to go to Lexington to vist baby sister, Katie. We had a great afternoon with her, and we even met her boyfriend, Brandon. He seems like a pretty cool guy. Both Ben and I gave our thumbs up to this guy. Katie seems to be really happy at school despite having a pain-in-the-butt roomie. The friends of hers that we met (Rachel, Angelina and Ashley) were really nice and they make Katie happy, so that makes me happy.

Tonight we're back in Louisville with Jessica and Craig, and we're getting ready to watch "SNL" with Jon Heder as host. We have high hopes that it will be mostly funny... remember the days when all of SNL was funny? Not a stupid, useless skit to be had back then... now, every skit is a toss-up. Well, I think that they are ready to watch. So.... laters!