This is for Penni

Ticked Off

I debated on sharing this story. It may fall under the category of TMI (too much information), but this blog is a document of my life and, well, this is my life . . . so here goes. Let me just forewarn you now, the story you are about to read is gross. Penni may not be phased, but I feel the need to strongly urge Tina to STOP READING NOW. Just close the browser window and walk away!

I woke up this morning on my back with Karlo's arm hugging my belly. My first waking feeling was pain. Pain in the middle of my stomach. I immediately moved his arm off of me, but the pain was still there. I couldn't tell if the pain was on the surface (skin) or inside me (like an actual stomach ache). All I knew was that it hurt and something wasn't right. I squirmed around in bed and nothing helped. I started to push my fingers around my bellybutton and the pain got much worse. What on Earth happened to me in the middle of the night?

When I got up and got my eyeballs open I tried to inspect around my bellybutton and inside of it. That is not very easy to do, but I was able to barely see something black in there. Was my bellybutton just full of lint or was it something else? I suddenly got scared, started to feel nauseous, and immediately started yelling for Karlo to come and help me. I had a bad feeling what might be in there.

Tina, if you didn't listen to my first warning, I'm warning you again. Leave now!

So Karlo gets a flashlight and his reading glasses and I laid down on the bed in tears. Sure enough, it was a tick, completely attached to the inside of my bellybutton. (I warned you!) OMG it hurt so bad as Karlo tried to tweeze and/or cut it out. Well the pain persisted and it actually hurt to walk. I got to work and waited for the pain to go away, but it didn't. I decided to do the right thing and seek medical attention.

The doc said that it was indeed a deer tick (the kind that carry Lyme Disease) and it's usually about a 50/50 chance that a bite like that transmits the disease. He didn't understand why I'm still experiencing so much pain. I guess I'm just having a topical reaction to the bite. Fun stuff. I got some ointment for the skin and some antibiotics for the bacteria, but it's crappy timing. I couldn't get the best antibiotic because you can't be in the sun while taking it and that was not going to work on my way to a cruise. And then there's the part where the pills may bring on some flu-like symptoms over the next 3 days. Great. But I guess it's still better than getting Lyme Disease.

I was ready to move out of the woods, never hike again, or invest in some human FrontLine, but I found a product at EMS that I'll be buying cases of.

Sorry to gross out, but I had to document it. And PS - Happy Birthday Penni!

So Ready

I'm so ready for a vitamin D overdose! I am also so ready for a haircut . . . which I'm about to be late for . . .

Intro to PriceLine.com

This afternoon I used Priceline.com online travel booking for the first time. With all the travel reservations I book, I'm surprised I never used them before and I'm not even sure why. I've been pretty loyal to Expedia and Travelocity for years. The only reason I pick Travelocity over Expedia on occasion is because they allow you to pick your seat assignments. Not sure why Expedia doesn't do that, but Expedia allows you to save an itinerary before you officially book it (and, of course, Travelocity doesn't). So it seems you can't get everything you want in one place, but there are times when one thing is more important than the other.

Then a few years ago I discovered Hotwire and they really rock for scoring good deals. They offer amazing rates, but the catch is that you don't know which airline or which hotel you'll be getting. As you can imagine this is not always convenient. Actually, it's very rarely acceptable, but in the few times that it was we scored great hotels on the cheap. And the closer you are to your travel dates, the better the deals -- like when I needed to book a hotel for the following night in Brussels. We got a really nice place for an amazing price. All I cared about was having a bed to sleep in and location wasn't a big concern. So far all of our hotels we booked with Hotwire have been better than we expected and I wish I could use them more.

Tonight I ventured into uncharted territory and decided to give PriceLine a try. I only needed a rental car so the commitment was very low and I couldn't care less between one car rental agency over another. The deal with PriceLine is that you can "name your own price." Essentially you bid on what you want to pay and then submit an offer. You must enter all your credit card information with your offer and if it gets accepted, you are committed. But like I said, this was a very low commitment as I was only reserving a car for one night. A great chance to test drive this site.

The cheapest economy car I could find in Ft. Lauderdale was $50+ per day plus taxes and fees, bringing the total to just over $70. So I bid a max of $25/day and was met with the unfriendly message of, "It is highly unlikely your bid will be accepted." That didn't stop me from keeping that bid. What did I have to lose? So I went ahead and entered all my info and what do you know? It got accepted and I instantly saved over $30 on the rental. There is no doubt that I will be giving PriceLine a try again in the future.

Huskies Rule, Bulldogs Drool

That's all I got to say about that. I would say more . . . but I'm too exhausted from watching the game last night. Whooo hooooo UCONN!!!!! I need a new sweatshirt to celebrate.

Photos of the Week 13

At least I think it's the 13th week. I totally lost track. Here's what last week looked like through my eyes.

#87
I arrived to Florida in the rain so I took a picture of this sign in the hotel lobby. And then I suffered through more rain, wicked thunderstorms, and even a tornado. So much for the land of sunshine!

#88
This is what half of the next day looked like. I did get to stroll around in the sunshine (while it lasted) and have a great lunch, but this is really what I should be remembering from the day. My video workshop at Photoshop World. I'm finally getting the serious 'behind the camera' training that I need.

#89
The always exciting keynote presentation to kick off the conference. Photoshop World has to be one of the most fun conferences in the world to attend. What a ball.

#90
So much for the fun. Now it was all about learning. I sat through hours of classes for three days.

#91
And then the sun finally came back - just in time for me to go home. But I did get to soak up the rays for a little while and get my vitamin D supply for the day.

#92
What on earth is this? Karlo is making himself a butter and raw potato sandwich, like only Karlo could. I don't even want to ask what he ate all week while I was away.

#93
We will call this "Spring Fever." Everyone besides me is sunbathing - Karlo is enjoying the sun on the deck while both dogs are soaking in the rays through the window. I guess it's time I head out there too.

Jet Blue Rocks

I made it home from Orlando. I survived the tornadoes, the mind numbing conference classes, and midnight madness. And, of course, it was perfectly sunny and 80 degrees when I left. Figures. It was hard to leave at that point. That sun felt so good on my skin. My body is simply craving it at this point.

My travel home was easy and uneventful and I'm simply in love with Jet Blue. The entire flying experience was like a breath of fresh air to a seasoned traveler. Boy do I wish Jet Blue provided flights to more cities out of Bradley. I hope and pray that they extend their service here because I will be a loyal customer and United Airlines can ____________ (you can fill in the blank there).

The staff at Jet Blue were all happy and helpful. They didn't charge extra for checked baggage. They gave you the entire can of beverage (instead of a cupful of ice and 1/2 ounce of liquid), they even let you have your choice of snacks and when I couldn't decide between the animal crackers or the cashews (yes, cashews - not peanuts) they said I could have both. Every single seat gets their own private video screen and although they do charge for headsets, the input is a standard jack so any headphones taken off an mp3 player will work. On the way back I watched non-stop HGTV House Hunters International. When the pilot came on and said, "Folks we are making our final approach into Hartford" my reaction was, "What? Already? I have to see what house they picked before you land."

But wait, there's more. As I was walking from the gate to the baggage claim I heard an announcement as to what baggage carousel my bags would be on. In all my flying I never remember hearing any such announcement. Usually I just get down to baggage check and hunt and peck until I find my flight. I also usually walk really slow, visit the rest room, call the parking valet service, and still wait around for 15 minutes for my bags to show up (with United). But last night I didn't visit the restroom and the bags started making their way down the conveyor belt the minute I got to the carousel. Absolutely everything about the airline impressed me and I will certainly fly them any chance I get. Good job Jet Blue!