I went to the ear, nose, and throat doctor yesterday. Praise the Lord, amen, hallelujah.

It was quite a day. I was on the phone with his nurses, the insurance people at Bond clinic, and the United Healthcare people for about 45 minutes, trying to figure out if it was OK for me to go to the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor (who shall herein be referred to as the ENT DR.), ’cause they wanted a referral first. It was OK. It would only be 25 dollars. I had an appointment that very morning.

HOLLER!

I went in, filled some forms out, and I was serious about it. I brought every medication I’ve been taking in my daily concoction to keep myself alive. Tylenol severe cold day, tylenol severe cold night, vick’s vapor rub, cough drops, neilmed sinus rinse, flonase, etc.

I meet the nice doctor (and he really was nice, and deserved none of my attitude, but I really hate being sick and I’d put off this visit about 2 weeks too long). I tell him about my history with allergies and how I’ve had shots and everything he could possibly give me, and it only works for about 2 weeks until my body figures out how to conquer it and then it’s no good. Here’s the cool part:

HE ACTUALLY LISTENED. He said, OK then we won’t do that.

rock and roll.

Then he says, “May I stick this camera down your nose?” He asked it just like that.

OH MY GOSH DOCTOR MAN, YES YOU CAN STICK THAT CAMERA IN MY NOSE! That is freakin’ the coolest thing ever!!! I said, “Will I get to see it on the TV?!” He said no, it’s not hooked up. Bummer.

So he sprays some kind of numbing stuff down my nose and sticks the camera in there..all the way down into my throat. I could feel it when I swallowed. It was crazy. He learned a lot while he was in there. Mostly that my throat problems have little to do with my allergies, and a lot to do with acid reflux. And a sinus infection.

But I don’t have heartburn, I argued.

Doesn’t matter, he says.

But…I don’t have gross burps or have nasty tastes from burping.

Doesn’t matter.

But…I’m not an old man who just ate a chili dog.

Easy fix, he tells me. Don’t eat or drink 2 hours before bedtime (including naps) and take this pill and take some antibiotics and see if it helps you. Keep taking your allergy medicine.

So I scored some free antibiotics from Publix and hopefully, help is on the way.

‘Cause if I keep coughing all night, Mike is going to leave me.

A brain dump. Don’t be gross.

Carlos told me to do it, and I do what he says ’cause he’s smarter than I am.

I feel a little better. The whole idea of a “brain dump” is to make a list of things on your mind…I’m talking every single solitary thing that your brain keeps reminding you of throughout the day. Once you have that done, you need to write down your “next step” for each “to do.” Por ejemple, one of my to do items is “do laundry” with a frowny face next to it, ’cause nobody likes that. So, my next step is “get quarters and detergent.” Great. Now, once you’ve “dumped” you have more room in your head for creative things. Since that is my job, I’m thinking it’s a good perk.
It isn’t super complex. I’ve always been a list maker, but this takes it one step further and helps you figure the “next step.” It’s simple, and there’s something about getting it on paper that makes you feel better.

I definitely feel 5 pounds lighter.

I think it’s pretty logical to assume that the bigger your feet are, the longer your legs are, the taller you are. Makes sense.

I was shoe shopping this weekend, and I realized that maybe they haven’t though that through. All the size 9 (my size) shoes were on the bottom. So the tall freak had to get on her hands and knees to see the shoe. HELLO. Someone should fix that. You shorties with small feet are closer to the floor anyway. I took a picture for all you visual people, but it didn’t turn out very well.

But this has really made my day.
On my way to work I pass a Pix gas station (which is a Publix gas station) and they serve Barnie’s Coffee, which is freakin’ amazing if you haven’t tried it. I love all the flavors. Anyway, now they have this deal where if you buy the thermos thing (pictured here)

you can fill it up for 89 cents. The thing is HUGE too… 20 oz. actually. This is great because I’ve been getting a small 8 oz. coffee every day for $1.09 + tax. So now I’m saving money, getting more coffee, and (another fantastic bonus) my coffee actually stays hot until I drink it all. Amazing.

God is not in the business of letting people down.

The story:
We had to get new car insurance. I’m sure most of you know it went up recently, and we never got on a shared policy since we’ve been married, so we figured it’s about time. So we find a place with a great price, and they tell us it will be about $160 down to start, which is fine. I mean, that’s a ton of money, but whatever, we have to do it.

Well, turns out after they run my VIN number, they see a hefty little ticket I received from drag racing down South Florida Avenue my sophomore year of college. They decide to up our first payment sort of like a deposit. They more than doubled it, which is basically my paycheck for an entire week. FREAKOUT. Holy meltdown while driving home from walmart. I think, “How are we going to do this? I hate pulling money out of savings…” I’m crying. It sucks. Just when you think your finances are starting to balance out, something always happens. Maybe I should turn around and return the butterfingers I just bought.

Not 15 minutes later, I find out that my inlaws decided to owe us $175, not having any clue what just went on. A few weeks ago Mike got new tires on his car and…it’s a long story, but they gave us back $175 we had spent. Which covered some of that insurance cost. And all I can do is look at my ceiling with a lump in my throat and think, “When will I ever learn?”

God is not in the business of letting people down.

I’m sure you’ve seen the blanket I’m thinking of.  It’s a soft cotton in the middle, and it has a silky strip around the edges. It’s about 3′x3′ and it’s the most glorious thing in the world. This is the closest pic I can find.

I should know. I’ve had one since I was born. Not the same one (because I’m really rough on blankets), but the same blanket in different colors. I cannot sleep without it.  My friends know better than to screw around with the blanket, as does my husband.  Sometimes, when it’s time for bed, I walk in to find Mike snuggled up with blankie. MY BLANKIE. It’s war. I will fight to the death for that blanket.

2 nights ago he told me (as he wrestled the blanket from my arms), “You’re like that dirty kid from Charlie Brown.” Duh Mike. I gently told him that the kid with the blanket is Linus, and Pigpen is the dirty kid.  His response:

“Well, you’re a hybrid.”

Thanks honey.

I did the musical “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” in high school…in fact, it was the first production (I use that term loosely) I’d ever been a part of. So, I’d like to quote Linus and say, “It’s foolish, I know it. I’ll try to out-grow it, but meanwhile it’s my blanket and me.”

So deal already.