Rainy Craft Day

So this weekend was yucky, like super yucky!  I had plans with friends to cheer on the Monument 10k runners but with the constant rain and just getting over Pneumonia, I thought it was best to not be outside in the rain.  So by Saturday afternoon, I was getting a little stir crazy, so I ventured out to Target for a little shopping trip with the mom and CJ in tow.  Then came back home and cooked a yummy dinner for us all of West End London Broil with Garlic Mashed Potatoes (from the VT cook book).  

Well Sunday was equally as rainy and still just as yucky, so Lila suggested a craft day, so Kathryn, Lila, CJ and myself all got together to make mason jar soap dispensers.  Stealing a phrase from my friend Amanda, this is another pin-plete (a completed pin from pinterest).  It was quite fun and I like how they turned out, I might just be inclined to make another one sometime :)

What did you do on this rainy weekend?  Who else is ready for spring and summer to be here?

SICK (alternative post--why I have not been posting for the last two weeks)

Spoiler Alert, the title is a dead give-away!  The reason I have been MIA for the last two weeks is simply because I got sick and I got sick real good.  It all started the Monday after Tiffany and Josh left.  I woke up feeling awful, so since it was a snowy day anyway, I decided I would do work from home that day.  Well resting did not seem to make anything better and I was running a fever by day's end.  Tuesday I woke up with every bone in my body in pain, a high fever and no relief in sight so by Tuesday afternoon I was at Patient First, hoping I could get some tamiflu or something.  I had blood work, a flu test and various other tests run and nothing came back positive, so I was sent home with instructions to rest up and get better.  Well my body did not get the memo and decided to get worse and worse over the next two days before Thursday evening when my fever spiked at 103.7, so it was back to Patient First for another round of tests--flu again, more blood and this time a chest scan.  Well guess what?  The chest scan showed that I had massive pneumonia, meaning my lungs were functioning at about 33%.  No wonder I felt like death.  The doctors there went back and forth with whether or not I should go to the hospital, but after 3 hours at Patient First with an IV drip, an antibiotic shot to the backside, and some Tylenol, my pulse and temperature were both at acceptable levels for me to go home, with the instructions that if I got any worse to go straight to the ER.  Well needless to stay, sleep that night did not happen much at all.

For a comparison, my x-rayed lungs are on the left below and the picture on the right is a normal set of lungs.  As you can see mine were filled with all kinds of junk that was not supposed to be there.

 

Luckily, with the problem diagnosed correctly I was able to get on antibiotics and am now feeling better after many, many days of rest.  It is always a hard battle for me to be sick cause I hate not having the energy to do stuff.  I know some people love the chance to be able to rest and relax for 10 days straight, but it was not very fun for me at all.  Although I had the best nurse in the world, with my little mom taking such good care of me.  Then on Saturday with a few doses of antibiotics, I finally got visitors when CJ and Anna came by to visit.  We watched Frozen and just chatted, which was great fun!  Then on Sunday, CJ came back by again.  It was so nice to have people around for me, not to mention the bagels, soup and ice cream CJ brought with her :)

So hopefully I am on the mend and this will be a thing of the past (the coughing is still very present), but normal life has started to happen, so we will see what the next few weeks bring!  It is just sad cause I had to miss a fun and exciting weekend in Baltimore with some of my college buddies, but we will reschedule and hopefully next time snow nor sickness will keep us apart!

Twin Cuteness

Why yes, yes I do realize it has been 2 weeks since I posted last and I have a good reason for that, I promise (might get that post up tomorrow, so stay tuned).  But in the mean time I wanted to share some cutie patootie pictures of the twins when they were in town two weekends ago.  My sister and her family wanted to come in for the little guys to finally meet Nannie Violet (their great-grandmother).  So they all got in Saturday morning and left to go home Sunday afternoon.  It was a quick trip but a fun one!  And since pictures are worth a thousand words, I will quit typing and get onto the cuteness.....

Holden Man

More Holden Man

Garrett playing music for us!

So cute!

Look at those eyes!

Sunday Selfie with Auntie Lala

Garrett Man

Little Holden might have been getting ready to cry here but look at that face.....

Unfortunately I did not get any pictures with Corbin, although I did spend time with the little guy.  He got to go on a movie date with mom and Gaga on Sunday while Auntie Lala and dad stayed home with these guys :)

My less than 84 hour vacation...

You might have remembered there was a post back at the end of February about an upcoming mini-vacation.  Well the vacation happened and I am back, and where did we go?  Well I will see if you can guess...

It's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!  (Just for you Amanda)

CJ and the Hogwarts Express

Love for Dr. Seuss!  

The Cat in the Hat

The Titanic Experience (had to get a little nerd activity in too)

If you have not figured it out yet, this will be a dead giveaway to where we went :)

Woody made out of Legos--so cool!

Even better, snow white made out of Legos

CJ practicing being a princess

We ended up getting to Disney the DAY before the flower and garden festival, so there were beautiful flowers everywhere!  But many of them were hidden so we did not get to see all of them!

The Lion King

The Giant Golf Ball Thingie, as we so affectionately called it when we were kids (aka EPCOT)

My favorite princess--Snow White

Snow White in Flower form

Lady & The Tramp

Hollywood Studios (formally MGM)

This is a panoramic of the new part of Harry Potter World at Universal

Day by the pool, coincidentally, this was the day it snowed about 6 inches in Richmond, we were by the pool with 80+ degree temperatures.

Mickey!

Minnie!

Our car design at Test Track

I had to peek between some tall bushes to get this picture for Corbin, but its a Mater made out of flowers!

Thinking of you (all back home)

OH No!  A dinosaur

So if you have not figured it out, we went to Orlando, Florida.  We left early (think 5am) on Sunday morning and arrived in Florida by 9am and got to the park about an hour later.  Then we did some park hoping and some pool relaxing over the next 4 days and left about 8pm on Wednesday night to get home.  After a short layover in Atlanta (literally got off the plane, moved terminals, went to the bathroom and were boarding again), we then flew back to Richmond to arrive about midnight.  Let me tell you Thursday was a rough work day but it was worth it for a few days away!  All in all, it was a fun-budget friendly trip!  Where are you planning to travel to next?  Any mini or extended vacations in your future?

For me, I am happy to report I was in town last weekend and plan to be in town this weekend--it is the first time for 2014 that I will be home two weekends in a row and I am really looking forward to it!  

It's the little things in life...

Today I am thankful for:

* a beautiful weather weekend

* Day Light Savings Time

* Spring

* Flowers

* Friends

* Family

* a love of cooking

* warmer weather (even if I am in indoors all day)

* a low-key week ahead

* and last, but not least...United States Wrapping Paper (yup, I found this gem this weekend for $4, I have been looking for something similar and this large scale to frame and I found this page of wrapping paper this weekend while in Carytown!  I may be a nerd, but that just makes me all the more unique)

P.S.--stay tuned later this week for an update on my most recent trip :)