THE Dress, Ladies, & Christmas!

 I know it's late but I have some catching up blogging.

This year Paul & I celebrated our first Christmas as an engaged couple! Not only that but my mom & sister made it to town, for Christmas and for.... WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING!

I made sure to tell the doctors that I had to be home on Thursday because I had dresses to try on! Mom & Tess headed out of Colorado the day of a pretty intense blizzard. Their normal 9 hour drive took 12 1/2 hours! I may have had a bag hanging out from my belly but I still made it home Thursday afternoon. Friday, Mom, Tess, & I went to Manhattan to Celebrations of the Heart to begin the search for the perfect dress. The assistant & I put on my very first wedding dress, I looked in the mirror, & the walk down the hall I had to calm my self & held back tears. I knew if I were to start the waterworks my mom would too. That feeling between all of us was amazing. Then I was onto the 2nd dress, I almost had a 'Bridesmaides' moment. Once you see the movie you'll understand, only mine was the vomit feeling. I just sat down, drank some water and I was on to dress number 3. As she clamped it shut I realized this was it, I LOVED IT! I tried on some more just to see different styles but everyone I seemed to, I kept hearing in my head "it doesn't have this like #3 or #3 has this, etc." I put #3 back on and decided.... "I said YES, to the dress!" I am super excited!!!  No pictures though, I love the tradition of the groom not seeing the dress, especially since Paul has only seen me in one dress ever (& that was for Halloween). I was also beat and had to get some grub. McAllisters it was for some awesome soup & sweet tea. I recommend them if you ever see one. We also stopped my girl good friend Lori's house to introduce her to the family. It was nice getting to see her, her mom, & the remodel they're doing. Also getting to see her most recent jewelry, shoutout to Home on the Range Exchange!

For Christmas, this year I got a little crafty (thank you Pinterest once again) and made a card hanger & all my friends University bulbs. I had KSU, OU, KU, & Michigan bulbs. Needless to see it looked like a fairy exploded in my living room. There was glitter everywhere, or as my friend Misty says, "Glitter is the crabs of crafts, it's everywhere & you have no idea how it got there" :)

The card hanger was kind of last minute, but it was extremely easy. A ribbon bow with two strands of hanging ribbon & some clothespins & wallah!

The weekend before, Paul & I picked out our very first Christmas tree together. We got it from the Topeka Optimist club, which they got the trees from Wisconsin. It smelled amazing!



Our first ornament! :) ... I painted it too!

On Saturday, we took mom & Tess to our wedding ceremony & reception location. They loved it! It was also very special as my mom says holding back tears, "it's where I get to see my little girl walk down the aisle to get married." That night I introduced them to Pinterest and now they are hooked! Let the planning really begin!

After the weekend, Mom & Tess made it back safely & under 9 hours. I hope that all of you had wonderful Christmas & New Years as well!



A Different New Years ...

For those of you who don't know, last night I just returned home from the hospital.... yes, again.

In December, my co-workers noticed I was turning yellow, eyes & parts of my skin. I went in to have my liver values checked. Who woulda thought jaundice in an adult, right? And no they didn't stick me under a UV lamp. My liver values were elevated, met with a GI doctor, CT scan, MRI, & set up with a liver specialist. On December 21st, I went in for a colangiogram (patient sedated, go into liver take pictures, insert bag to drain bile if needed). I woke up with a bag coming out of the left side of my liver (so just below my sternum). Since they go into your liver you have to stay they night due to infection purposes. The following week I went in for another, only into the right side. I was in an extra day as there was more pain because the tube for this went through my ribs & obliques. Friday night Paul & I were having a Sons Of Anarchy marathon, an all nighter! Only early Saturday morning no amount of pain pills was helping the pain I was in. Eventually, I fell asleep & woke up in a sweat. My temperature was up so ER bound on New Years Eve. Luckily we arrived before all the crazy drunks. This was my first new years I never had any champagne, however I was pretty high on pain pills singing & working on my turkey calls to Paul.
The left bag wasn't doing anything so it was pulled & my fever eventually broke. The following Wednesday I transferred to KUMed in KC, I chose this to see a more experienced liver specialist (if I was an old fellow I would've stayed w/my Topeka doc b/c he seems amazing just doesn't get many complication cases in young livers). Basically, all the pictures have shown is my liver is a wreck... but we are having to take it one step at a time because they ran cultures on my bile and I have 3 bugs (like staph, a fungus, & another - all names I can't pronounce). My doc had me get new liver pictures & a new right bag put in. Good news is this one is a lot less painful. For now, plan is to send my bag & me home with lots of antibiotics & observation instructions. I feel like Ms. B from Grandma's Boy. In 2 weeks I follow up with my infectious disease doctor & liver surgeon to find out what's next.
Until then my fingers are crossed.

Note: If you are in the Topeka area I recommend Dr.Challa at Kansas Medical Center for Gastroenterologist stuff; and any surgeon on Tallgrass surgical center (go specialists!)

Visitors for a Dress & XMas :)

I just wanted to stop in and wish everyone a fabulous Christmas! I've had plenty of blogging ideas just haven't made it to the computer to sit and write. Hopefully tomorrow I will :)

On another note, my mom & sister made it to town on Thursday. It took them 13 hours to get here!!! It is normally a 9 hour drive. The snow was bad and blowing out in Western Kansas, & Eastern Colorado. Friday, we loaded up and went to Manhattan to try on WEDDING DRESSES! I found one that I'm going to get & absolutely LOVE! It was the 3rd one I tried on and everyone after that the rest just didn't compare to it. I am SUPER excited. Saturday, we took mom & Tess to see the location of the ceremony & wedding. They loved it too! Mom was holding back her tears for sure, which luckily she did otherwise I would've been balling right there with her. The rest of this weekend is rounding out with food, games, & relaxation.

Just a Quickie: Horse Slaughter & Stamps

As I was sitting down eating supper tonight, Paul (who knows my stance on the subject), asked if I had heard the rumor of the horse slaughter ban being lifted. I hadn't, but I also hadn't had any time lately to read any of my Ag news or blogs.
Once finished, I jumped on the PC and searched. According to multiple newspapers & ABC news, they stated that in November, Obama quietly signed a bill that would reverse the 2006 decision. The slaughterhouses may be up & running within 90 days if they are able. Note: this doesn't mean I will be heading to my nearest diner for a horse steak anytime soon. I would love to talk more about it, but I am tired at the moment (just wanted to post a quickie) AND more importantly, I am one who believes in doing their research before running their mouth... SO I would like to find out more before I say too much.
Here's just a couple of the sites I read:
 - Progressive Cattleman
 - ABC news
 - PETA  (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) - yes, they even had an article about the ban lift. They agreed it didn't work, then went on about the transportation issues & how they would like to see a ban on slaughter & exportation of live animals in order for it to work. If you read this article, remember that this group will say anything & dramatize everything to get you to believe the livestock, horse racing, rodeo, & any other animal industry is evil. Personally, I'm for 'People Eating Tasty Animals'  :)

....which brings me to another point.
         When mailing your Christmas cards out this year, please support agriculture & use the holiday stamps! There's a new stamp in town, ones with a different vegetarian (past & present) on them. Read more on my friend Kelsey Pope's agriculture blog, Ag on the Forefront.

My 1st Michigan Trip!

This past weekend Paul & I racked up a whopping 1800 miles on Blue. We drove him through Missouri, up into Illinois & Indiana. Then we by-passed Chicago, & up to a little hole in the trees to peek at Lake Michigan! I fell in LOVE! It was gorgeous.

After I played in the chilly water for a while we headed 3 hours into the High Five state to Ann Arbor, where we met up with some of Paul's buddies. We had some beers at Ann Arbor Brew Pub, which were delish. Food was on the mind though & their line was too long, so we headed over to The Blue Tractor. More beers & dinner were in order. I had an amazing BLT made with a fried green tomato! YUM! The boys caught up with shots while the fiance's talked of weddings.



in Ann Arbor



Paul & I in Ann Arbor... of coarse I had to represent K-State @ least one night!!!



The next day, Michigan took on Nebraska! We missed tailgating but viewed the game at another one of Paul's groomsman's houses. Which of coarse followed with some get-to-know-ya-catch-up beer pong/flip cup.



Some of Paul's good friends!

Finally, on Sunday we were able to catch up on some sleep only to wake up to meet Paul's aunts, uncles, grandparents, & cousins. The meal was great & the people were very welcoming & nice. It was also my first experience with a grandparent with dementia. Different, but just something you have to cope with. After supper I had a dejavoux. We were sitting around the table & his other grandpa was telling stories, only the way he talked sounded exactly like my grandpa that passed away back in 2000. It was hard to hide my emotions. That night we met up with another groomsmen & his sister that actually live in Colorado but are from Michigan.

Monday morning, Bob Evans called us for breakfast with his family. Then we were off on our 13 1/2 hour drive back to Topeka, KS. This time we dropped down through Indiana, the corner of Illinois, & through St. Louis into KC. It misted on us the whole way back which made for a good photo in St.Louis (if only it was lighter).

 

the SWEET tote Paul's mom made me for my birthday!



The view of St. Louis Monday night from in the truck on the bridge

 I met some great new friends, new 'soon-to-be' family & saw some great places!
I can't wait to get back & see more of the state, maybe even cross the pond, Canada!!!