Happy Festivus

I say this with the utmost gratitude in the world. I am back among the living. I have been sick. And I mean sick. I have had the stomach flu and it has been nasty. It was so bad that I actually sought medical help yesterday afternoon. All I can say is thank God for Lomotil and Phenergan. I still stake claim to my no-vomit streak. Clean since September of 1999.

Let's discuss that. I have three fears. More like phobias. (An irrational fear.) One of them is of losing complete control of my surroundings. That includes vomiting. Or others around me vomiting. It freaks me out. Completely. I can hear of someone in Pakistan that might have thrown up and I start to fear that I am next. I am a freak about it. When I get the slightest bit nauseous, I fight it to the bitter end. It's like my mind won't let my body do it. It's beyond weird. It hit me Wednesday around noon. I went to bed. I fought it all night and then all day Thursday. I ate a few chips and half a burger Thursday night. Big mistake. More fighting it off. Horrible night. Crappy day Friday. Then the horrific pain started around noon on Friday. I thought I was going to die. This wasn't just cramps. This was intense stomach pain. I finally told David about 3:00. I called my Mom to see if she'd come over and watch the boys. (Thanks, Mamaw!) David and I headed to the walk-in clinic for the two hour wait. It was horrible. The sweet doctor gave me a shot of phenergan for the nausea and a prescription for lomotil for the other end. He diagnosed be with old fashioned gastroenteritis. I'm feeling SO much better today. I haven't eaten yet. But I did leave the house for about an hour to run some errands. That I'll address next.

This is where the Festivus gods were smiling on me. I've procrastinated to the worst degree this year. But - - my favorite bakery was open and despite my having forgotten to order two buttermilk chess pies to take to Austin, they happened to have two left. Sweet. The Christmas tile I made at Pottery Ranch was ready *and* they were open. I was able to pick that up. The pharmacy downtown was open today and I was able to pick up my hormone. Now I won't have to be a crazy hormonal woman for my family over the holidays. (Lucky family! And no hot flashes!) Elite Physique was open and I was able to buy my hubby a gift certificate for a 90 minute massage from his favorite therapist. A couple of other minor stops and I made it home. All without the urge to stop at a potty. Yay me.

Now to Festivus. If you don't know what that is. Look at Mamaw's blog. She details it pretty well. You have to be a Seinfeld fan to get it. But today is the official day. We are celebrating Christmas with Mamaw and Papaw tonight. No dinner or anything. Not ready to go that far. Just the gift exchange thing. That's always fun. It's about the boys now. I guess that's all for now.

Oh, and the other two fears - - snakes and tornadoes.