Till my birthday! That’s right, folks! There’s still time to make a mad dash to the mall for yours truly!

Just kidding. Actually, I’m not. My birthday really is on Wednesday (that’s Feb 1, not the 2nd, which is groundhog day and noIamnotagroundhogthankyouverymuch!). I’m usally a Super Brat about my birthday and don’t stop obsessing over it until three weeks after the fact. But not this year. I don’t know what it is. I am turning 30 but I am in absolutely no way depressed about it. I am very happy with my life the way it is now (except for this stomach pain BS!) and I’m glad to put my twenties behind me. I think maybe I’m mellow and quiet about my birthday cause I’ve been so sick the past week. I just haven’t felt up to doing much of anything, let alone acting like a spoiled brat. Today is the first day that I feel somewhat normal so I’m getting on with my life, pain or no pain.

However, you’ll be glad to know that I have properly trained Honey over the years on How To Tackle Garnet’s Birthday. So I can rest assured that things will not be disappointing! He’s taking Friday off from work (as am I) and we are going to hang out together. Then Friday night he’s got a big dinner party planned at one of my favoritests seafood restaurants in town (Pappadeaux). Some of my family and closest friends and co-workers will be there! I’m so excited! This is like my only chance to gorge on seafood! (Since July in Hilton Head, when I totally OD’d on crab legs!) Weeeeeeeee!

I do have a couple of non-birthday related items to tell you about…

My Honey bought a brand new truck. He traded in his 2000 Nissan XTerra for a 2006 Toyota Tacoma Off Road truck. He’s working on putting a lift kit on it soon. I’ll post pictures ASAP.

My Astronomy class is blowing my freaking mind! I am having so much trouble grasping the fact that there are billions of galaxies, stars, black holes, etc in our universe! These time/space calculations are just unfathomable to me! But interesting none the less!

Honey and I have been cooperatively playing PS2 games lately. We just finished Baulder’s Gate and began Champions of Norrath last night. I know, one wonders how I have time in my life to play these games?! I make time, baby. I make time!

I saw James Frey on Oprah the other day (and then again on her After the Show show). He completely pissed me off. What a sleezy snake he is! He’s got no balls and he sounds like a 10 year old when he talks. My opinion is that he either fried a few thousand too many brain cells when he was smoking all that crack or he’s just a downright dumbass dirty liar. I still liked the book but I seriously think Oprah should revoke her Book Club seal of approval until it’s moved from the MEMOIR/NONFICTION to FICTION/LITERATURE section of the bookstores and libraries across the country. *climbing down from soapbox now*

Not much to tell. I still feel shitty. Especially after I eat anything. I went back to work yesterday but by 2:00 I was dead with pain in my gut. Slept in this morning, got up, ate a bland breakfast, then slept some more. This ickiness is really making me sleepy. I feel tired all the time. So just patiently trying to plug through the weekend until I get my test results back. I do so hope it’s this mystery bacteria that is causing me this extreme discomfort…because that’s easily treatable and go-away-able.

I have other things going on that I’d like to tell you but I need to go lie down again. BBL.

I’ve been in constant pain for three days and nights now. Monday night, I started to feel like I had indigestion. you know the kind that’s way high up in your tummy and you think you need to just burp and get it over with? Yeah. That kind. Anyway, I went to bed, figuring it would cure itself over night. I did not.
Tuesday morning I took some Gas X to no avail. Tuesday evening I drank some baking soda and water, followed by two cans of ginger ale, all in attempts to break up that gas bubble I thought was lodged in my tummy.
The pain has been constant. It’s ranged from aches between my shoulders down to my hips, to sharp pains just below my rib cage when I burp, cough, sneeze, hiccup. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to stand for long periods of time. By the end of the day, it hurts all the way to my back.

When none of my gas remedies worked, Honey suggested that maybe I had a muscle spasm across my torso. I thought it was a valid suggestion so I took a muscle relaxer and went to bed. Felt a little bit better yesterday morning but by the time I left work and headed to my First Aid class, I was just about doubled over in pain.

So, I called in sick to work today so I could see a doctor. It’s not getting any better and I’m starting to get worried. The anxious and irrational part of my brain (which I think I inherited from my mother!) thinks it’s a tumor, or maybe internal bleeding of some kind, or a blocked artery. The rest of my rational mind says, “You don’t have a medical degree so go ask someone who does!”

Mostly I just want it gone so I can get on with my life. I have to go to class this afternoon and then head downtown for Honey’s dad’s retirement party. I cannot afford to just lie down and wait for this to heal itself.

The thing is, I’ve never felt this kind of pain before. It’s not gas and I don’t think it’s IBS-related, and it’s not getting better. That’s starting to worry me.

My appointment is in an hour and a half. I’d better go get ready for it.

**UPDATE**
New doctor was great. He says it’s probably not a muscular or gallbladder problem because of where the pain is prominant. He thinks it may be a bacterial infection in my tummy called H Pylori. Yuck.
Anyway, he took some blood (while I looked the other direction and pretended not to notice) and will have the results early next week. Meantime, it’s “bland foods, clear liquids and quadruple the amount of antacids.” Woopty doo!

Grabbed from the Girl!

25 Questions that no one would ever think to ask:

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
What is up with my hair?!

2. How much cash do you have on you?
$12. It’s amazing that I have any cash at all!

3. What’s a word that rhymes with TEST?
Chest

4. planet?
Jupiter

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list?
An unrecognized number, area code 616.

6. What is your favorite ring on your phone?
Part of our wedding song: :Love of My Life” by Dave Matthews and Carlos Santana

7. What shirt are you wearing?
An old one I found in the closet…sort of a long-underwear kind of fabric, cream colored with tiny thistles scattered about.

8. What do you label yourself?
Miss Abbey, Pagan, Honey, Obsessive Compulsive….the list goes on.

9. Name the brand of your shoes you’re recently wearing?
I’m not wearing shoes. But a few minutes ago I had on my purple Crocs.

10. Bright or Dark Room?
Dark

11. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Sleeping.

12. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
“Okay. No problem.”

13. Where is your nearest 7-11?
Roughly 1/2 mile away.

14. What’s a saying that you say a lot?
“That’s not okay.”

15.Who told you they loved you last?
My Honey

16. Last furry thing you touched?
Nala

17. How Many Drugs Have You Done In The Past three Days?
I took my acid reflux medicine, antianxiety medicine, and no-baby pill once each of the three past days. Also, I took one Aleve today, had two strong cups of coffee and ate some ice cream (that’s a drug in my book!)

18. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
I haven’t taken pictures on a camera that required a “roll” in eons!

19. Favorite age you have been so far?
30. I’ll be 30 in 10 days. Can’t wait to get past the 20’s!

20. your worst enemy?
Asshole drivers.

21. What is your current desktop picture?
An Amy Brown Faery sitting on a stack of books.

22. What was the last thing you said to someone?
Thank you.

23. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly, which would you choose?
Money please.

24. Do you like someone?
You mean like like or just like, like a friend?!?!

25. The last song you listened to?
Pet Shop Boys doing Solsbury Hill.

A couple months ago, I started playing on NeoPets. It’s super fun and addicting. I’d play card or puzzle games in my spare time, earn NeoPoints and buy fun things for my pets. LOVED IT! Unfortunately, now that school’s started in full force, I find my spare time drastically reduced. The bad news is, you gotta feed these little critters regularly or they’ll die!

So, I’m just wondering, if any of my faithful readers might be interested in adopting my two cute little NeoPets HumfreyBogey and TheGreatXiola!? It’s totally free and completely addicting! If you’re interested, and have more time than I do to take care of these little cuties, please email me.

Thank you.