vacation day 2

Burrrrr! I don't think I'm ever going to be warm again. It was cold and rained on and off. I sat outside of the Wings training camp from 8 to 3 pm. It took a while and only the die hard fans stayed, but in the end it was worth it. Perseverance young grasshoppers! I was able to get 21 signatures for the Rotary auction and the auction for my coworkers baby. And I still have 3 more days to get more.



My group of friends and I then went to Dons Drive In for Lunch. It's a tradition for us to go there at least once while were up here. We plunk quarters into the jukebox, order huge milkshakes, and get our fortunes told by the fortune teller. (Just like the one in the Tom Hanks movie BIG.) Then we drove to our respective hotels and freshened up. At this point we all looked like drowned rats from sitting out in the rain for hours. But, I did manage to get my nose and cheeks sunburned in the 5 seconds that the sun was actually out. Then we split up into groups to do things around town. Some went to the casino, some stayed in their rooms, and some of us went to play put put golf.



I was in the golf group. I SUCK big time at golf. Tiger isn't my middle name either. But, it was fun none the less. The place we went to (because it was indoors and freezing outside) had black light/glow in the dark put put golfing. It was awesome. So totally different from anything Ive ever seen before. I'm not sure if I'd do it again, but it was an adventure. In case any of you were wondering, I came in dead last in our group.

It's 11:46 pm and time for me to turn back into a pumpkin. I'm going to try to roll my hair on spongue rollers so I look cute when we all go to the bar tomorrow. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. See yall tomorrow.

Reffie.

Now this is what I call a vacation...

Now this is what I call a vacation. After getting my hair done, I made my way up to Traverse City. Then, I went to dinner with the Red Wings. OMG! As the song says.. "Oh, what a night! Mid September.... " Aaron Downey (Try out) and Scott Brennan (prospet) sat at my table. I got tons of autographs and some really great pictures. I'll post more about it later, but I have to get some sleep tonight or I'll be a zombie tomorrow. Tonight's autographs were for me. The ones I get for the rest of the week are for mom's rotary auction and for my friends baby's auction.

Jon, if you're reading this... I worked it. You'd have been proud. I'll post pictures and everything when I get back home. I borrowed mom's laptop and cant download pictures onto it.

I'll see you all tomorrow....

It's alive. It's alive..It's moving, IT'S ALIVE!

Well gang, I'm alive. I survived the whatever it was. I was able to eat real (solid) food and drink all the liquids that I wanted today. The only bad part about that is now I have to go back to exercising. (Blah!)

Today I spent running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Trying to get everything ready for my upcoming vacation. I'm leaving after work tomorrow, so I have to get everything ready tonight. There's packing clothes, picking up last minute needs, stopping at the pharmacy, and cleaning up my apartment before I leave.

Packing clothes is an iffy prospect. I'll more than likely pack way more than I need, but also forget something very important. According to reports, its going to be rainy for a couple days and then sunny for the rest. Knowing that there's a 50% chance that the forecast is going to be totally wrong, I have to pack for both hot and cold weather. (Note to self... don't forget an umbrella just in case.) And then there's the shoes... I need the strappy black heels for the dinner, tennis shoes for running around, and then bar shoes for going out. There's my make up and hair stuff. And I can't forget diet coke and snacks. Humm....maybe I should rent a trailer for all this stuff.

I'm going to be meeting a group of friends up at Traverse City. It's the off season, so there's not alot of "tourists," but the weather is still nice enough to enjoy. (And the hotel rates are cheaper.) We like to hang out around town. Go out to eat at the various restaurants and the shopping is incredible. We're also going to go to the Red Wings training camp and a few are going to a special dinner with the players. ($150 per ticket, it better be special!) I usually get the players autographs for the Rotary Auction. It's going to be interesting this year because there are 2 separate auctions that I need to get autographs for. The Rotary and my co worker's ill baby. (The baby was born with an omphalocele; a birth defect in which the infant's intestine or other abdominal organs stick out of the navel. )

Well gang, I've stalled long enough. I must get back to packing and then loading my car. If I can borrow a laptop, then I'll post while on vacation. But if I can't have fun without me. I'll be back next Tuesday.

Gatorade, Slimfast, and mashed potatoes

I'm still sick today. Still have the stomach cramps, nausea, chills, and now a headache from low blood sugar. The very thought of food has me running to the restroom. Even liquids aren't being tolerated well anymore.

I'm forcing myself to at least drink some Gatorade or Pedialyte along with some Slimfast. I can't let myself get too dehydrated or I'll end up in the ER. If there's one thing I hate more than referees it's needles. And guess what they'd use in the ER. I did manage to eat a little mashed potatoes today. (I wanted a little diversity.) Which was a big mistake, too much too soon. And I also took the afternoon off of work to rest up. There isn't anyone to cover for me if I'm not at work, so I had to go in for at least the morning to get stuff started for the other admin. assistant so she wouldn't get dumped on on a Monday morning. (She'd do the same for me if she was sick.)

Lessons learned from the last few days. The fruit punch gatorade is the best tasting of all the flavors. 2 ply TP is the way to go. Tums are less chalky than rolaids. And there is absolutly nothing on TV during the middle of the day.

I did get some good news today, so that made me happy. I got a call from a pregnant friend who was in danger of miscarrying. She went for an ultrasound today and they were able to see the baby's heartbeat for the first time. The Dr. told her it was a nice strong heartbeat as well. She has to stay on bed rest, but at least the baby is ok for now. And, my friend who has breast cancer is doing better too. I'll get to see her this coming weekend. I'm going on my vacation if it kills me.

Well gang, It's back to the bathroom and to bed for me. I'll talk at yall later.

Rest in Peace and pass the T.P.

I'm not dead yet! Though yesterday I wished I was a couple times. Yesterday was supposed to be my big shopping extravaganza. The day I got a whole new wardrobe to celebrate my new figure thanks to all the weight I've lost. But unfortunately, My body decided to have the last laugh at my expense. "No Shopping for you!," was the response that my body gave me early in the morning.

Jon and I got up at 8:30 (ish) and got ready to go out for the day. Jon studied fashion to get his public relations degree, so he was going to help me pick out the latest greatest fashions. ( And keep me from getting lost while driving around in Detroit.) We decided to make a quick stop at Meijers to pick up some healthy breakfast items that we could eat on the road. (We got South Beach bars and yogurt smoothies.) And that's were all the "Fun" began.

Before we were even out of the store, I had to make a dash to the rest room. My stomach was percolating like a coffee maker, I was nauseous, had severe stomach cramps, cold sweats, and felt light headed. We headed back to his apartment to grab some of prevacid and let it work for a little bit. Lets just say that I got well acquainted with his bathroom. To put it delicately, I was running out of both ends. My sweet little brother did his best to take care of me. He brought me my toothbrush and cold wash cloths. He kept offering to take me to the ER.

I've had similar episodes in the past, though none were quite this severe. Eventually all those symptoms will go away and life can resume as normal. So, I forced myself to get up and moving. This was my dieting reward day and I had been looking forward to it for months. I wasn't going to let some "illness" take that away from me. I'd come to regret this decision many time later that day.

We went to the mall first. Where I got 3 shirts. I had to sit curled in the fetal position in the dressing room several times due to the stomach cramps. We tried to go to Macy's but the cramps just got worse, so after freaking out the store employees and some customers we left there. By the way, the mall has very nice restrooms. Very clean. Jon thought that I might feel better if I tried to eat something, so we went to Red Robin for some lunch. (Breakfast and all of the previous weeks food were lost that morning.) Jon got a wrap that looked incredibly good and I got the only thing that sounded remotely like it wouldn't kill me. A fried egg and a vanilla milk shake. (I did snitch one of his fries.) Red Robin's restrooms are also nice.

Then we stopped at Old Navy and TJ Maxs. 7 trips to the restroom between them. Stores really need to get better toilet paper. I got 5 more shirts and felt like dieing. It's quite the experience to try on clothes when you have the runs... let me just tell you. I wasn't going to give up on the shopping, even if it killed me. We decided to go to Target. You can get good deals on clothes, they also sell, Gatorade, anti nausea meds and Imodium. I got 7 more tops, a pair of sweats, and a dress between trips to the restroom. After that, I gave up. I couldn't make myself go on shopping anymore. So, we went back to Jon's apartment so I could rest. Then I drove home sipping Gatorade and munching on Tums.

I don't know what caused me to be so sick. It could have been food poisoning from the night before (though Jon ate the same thing and didn't get sick,) some virus, or the Celiac Disease that I have. My doctor says we may never know for sure. (I called him from the road to ask if I should go to the ER or what I should do.) I'm still having the stomach cramps, the dizziness, and the cold sweats today, so whatever it is, its hanging on. I wanted to loose more weight, but this wasn't the way I envisioned doing it.

I'm so disappointed that my reward day turned out to be a nightmare. I still have 3 more days before I go on vacation to go shopping if I want to, but it won't be the same. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. And hopefully the stores around here will have some good sales. Here's hoping that I can eat solid food again in th near future. Talk at ya'll later. It's time for some more meds and a nap.