Oops.. I did it again.

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I have a slight tendency to self diagnose myself when I am feeling ill (and my husband). I don't have any medical background, so this self diagnosing/self medicating myself never ends well. You'd think I would've learned my lesson, right? um, no. On Sunday, my ear felt like it was going to explode, but I chose to ignore it. Why, you ask? Well because #1- don't only small children get ear infections? & #2- I had a UK game to watch. Like my Wildcats could win without me watching them with a massive group of people. At a bar. On a Sunday. No judgement :) (As a side note, I did attend church before I participated in these celebratory activities.) And my Cats did win, so it made me temporarily forget about my ear.

Woooooop. FINAL FOUR BOUND!!!!! Who's excited???? I know I am, but I am positive my husband takes the cake. He has made re-watch Sunday's game at least 3-4 times. (God knows how many times hes watched it.) Kevin likes to make SURE I know exactly where UK has done well, and where they have room to improve. Like he is reviewing game film. Like he's a paid coach. Oh wait, he's not. Can you imagine what he's going to be like when we have kids? Have you seen the movie Kicking & Screaming? He will be just like the possessed Will Farell Character. My kids are going to have to do mandatory drills before dinner every night. Mark my words, it'll be a hoot to watch.

Per usual, I digress. By the time Monday rolled around, the ear ache was gone & I was feeling better. I had a fantastic day at work, followed by a great 4.5 mile run. Moreover, I even had a 30 min long convo with my boss at the gym after my run. Healed, right? Wrong. Again. When I got home, I started to go downhill fast. I managed to cook dinner, but then I checked my temp- 101 degrees. Don't worry, it stayed around that same temp until today. I honestly haven't/hadn't been this sick since I was about 10 years old. The culprit? Strep Throat. Again, who gets strep throat at age 25?? This is me strepified, being completely miserable.

SCURRRY PIC!!! Lemme tell ya, I thought I was dying. And yes, I am the same person who made fun of my husband a few weeks back for being a baby. I was literally eating my words. Despite my shortcomings as a caregiver, Kevin might win an award for being the best person ever. I'm talking taking me to the doctor, picking up meds, bringing me milkshakes, gatorade, etc. LOVE THAT BOY. So with all of his nursing, he was not entirely happy to see this little roadshow going on when he got home from work yesterday.

I may or may not have been working from my bed on my work laptop. While on our Macbook watching my beloved Netflix aka my life saver during this illness. (ps- I'm up to Season 3 of Brothers & Sisters. Its soooo good.) As you can imagine, he had a damn fit. But yall, I just don't do down & out well. Much to his dismay, I also may have snuck out of the house and am working today. I honestly can't help it- I love my job and HATE being out of the loop. So one more time- I haven't gone to med school. I don't learn medical knowledge through osmosis or telepathy by being around medical professionals all day. I won't diagnose myself, and I will go to the doctor. Although I learned it the very difficult & painful way, Lesson Learned. Again :) Thats it for now! XOXO- Caroline

True Life: I'm a.....

Ummmm, Is it Friday yet? Good Lord, what a week! One.More.Day. Thank goodness. So, since we haven't reached our much beloved Friday AND the weather has decided to go to hell in a handbag, I thought I would generous and share a shocking secret. Trust me, it'll be quality entertainment. So, here we go...
True Life: I am the WORST dancer on the planet. I wish I was joking, but my moves (if you can even call them that) can be classified as embarrassingly horrible. My husband, parents, and a few of my select friends (who I have actually let witness this horridness) will whole-heartedly confirm my lack of dancing ability. The problem lies within the fact that I have zero rhythm. Somehow, there is this huge disconnect between my brain hearing the beat of the music and my body responding with appropriate movements. What happens instead is this: I either look like I am having a seizure or I look like the old people at church who clap off beat because they can't hear the music. It just looks WRONG. This is pretty much me in a nutshell.

Wow. Want to hear the irony behind this?? Well, first off, my parents actually paid for dance lessons for 2-3 years of my life. You know, the kind of dance lessons that require participating in recitals? If you picture the child who was always about 2 beats behind everyone else, that was me. Recently, my parents even confessed that they used to take me to my dance recitals, but then sneak out once it got rolling. What parents do that??? I mean, I guess they knew my performances weren't going to win any awards? Still, thanks for the vote of confidence, Pat & Jan. Second point of irony? I was definitely on my School's dance team. Oh yes, I was a Floyd Central Dazzler at one point in my life. For those of you who do not have the privilege of being from beautiful Floyds Knobs, Indiana, it is actually the AWARD winning Floyd Central Dazzlers, who have won the national champtionship like 10 times or something crazy. The hilarious part with that is that I was the alternate. AKA- I was allowed to dance at games, but pretty much banned from all competitions. During my short stint as a dazzler, I had to attend several UofL Lady Bird dance clinics, and they always give out awards at the end of each clinic. Most commonly: Best technique, best in pom, etc. My award? Best attitude. Bahahahahahahaha. Talk about getting the sympathy vote. I know I was SOOO into it, which is just beyond embarrassing now because my dancing is just so hideous. I think it was around this time that Big P (aka my Dad) had a little pep talk with me in my room. The conversation went a little something like this:
Big P: Honey, you can be just okay at a lot of different things. Or really, really great at like, 1 or 2 things. So it might be better to focus on say, tennis & swimming, and less on being a dazzler.
Caroline: So No Dancing?
Big P: Honey, I think dancing might be one of those things you can only be just okay at.
Hahahaha- You gotta love Big P. I know it sounds like he was being harsh, but I swear, he's the best dad in the world.

See? In no way can that man be considered malicious. I am confident that his pep talk was just trying to save me from a life time of ridicule.
However, the worst aspect about my horrible dancing ability is that I have ridiculous anxiety about going places where I might have to dance. And lucky me, guess what is right around the corner? Wedding season. For us, it starts in 2 weeks. And we have around 14 weddings to go to. Hells Bells. So, if you happen to notice me in the corner, by myself & with a cocktail, this is not a mistake. Instead, it a strategic move to get me out of going anywhere near the dancefloor. It'll actually probably take about 5 of those cocktails to even get me remotely close to the dancefloor. And IF (huge IF) I actually make it on the dancefloor, have no fear, I will be easy to point out. Just look for the girl who is making even the YMCA & cha-cha slide look awkward..Because chances are- its me. Thats it for now. XOXO- Caroline

The day Mr. Vuitton became a burn victim....

I have a slight addiction to shopping. If you come into my closet, about 1/4 (or more) of my clothes still have the tags on them. I rarely think out my purchases- especially if I am able to get a good deal on something. Conversely, if it is a large purchase, I tend to obsess over my decision. Obsess is too mild of a word. Agonize is a much better descriptor for my behavior. When we go on trips, I pour over hundreds of trip advisor hotel reviews to make sure I make the right decision. Before we bought our new car, I became a member of every car website to read every review. So, when it came time to purchase a new bag, I pulled out all my crazy purchasing behavior and made quite a run on high end bags. First, it was the LV Damier Ebene Speedy 35.

However, when it arrived, I wasn't impressed with the quality. Then, I ordered the Gucci sukey tote...

Loved the bag, but I carried it one night, and someone asked me if it was a Guess bag. Yes, I am aware they were blissfully ignorant with designer bags, but Guess? ReallY? No thanks. Umm. I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna pay $800+ for people to think its a Guess bag that I can buy at TJ Maxx. Ew.
Finally, I realized that I was gonna have to bite the bullet and just head to the Holy Grail of fabulousness- aka Saks. So, my husband begrudgingly went with me on my never ending purse quest up to Cincy. After being there for well over an hour, I finally landed on this little number. Aka- my child. Aka my LV Neverfull.

Beautiful, right? Unfortunately, this picture is extremely misguiding, because like the title suggests, Mr. Vuitton became a burn victim on Saturday night. And yes, I am not being dramatic, he is a burn victim survivor. Basically, after attending a fabulous wedding shower for my dear friend, Dana, we eventually all wound up back at the house she shares with her fiance. Because there were so many people there, space was at a premium, so some of our purses sat upon her island... which also contains her stove. At some point in the night, someone accidentally turned on the burners. Unfortunately, Mr. Vuitton was resting on one of the burners. In turn, Mr. Vuitton endured some 3rd degree burns. Exhibit A:

Now, I would love to tell you I was completely calm & collected during this event, but that would be a bold face lie. I was okay for about 5 minutes, and then I kind of lost it. Um, hysterical tears lost it. The fact I had consumed about 6 or so glasses of wine at this point did not help my cause. Have I mentioned yet that my husband was out of town at a bachelor party?? So clearly, the most obvious thing to do was call him 5 times to tell him about the traumatic event that had just occurred. His response? "Well, I'm really sorry honey... But Why was it on the stove?" Very good point, just not one I wanted to hear at that particular moment. Then, I deemed it necessary to call my Dad 3 times to tell him about Louis' status. Thank God he did not answer. (Side note- he did call me back earrrllly yesterday morning. Apparently the hysteria in my message led him to believe I had been put in jail or something else crazy.)
Bless my friends hearts. I know I was a hot mess. I have received more texts and calls in the past day that were so sweet. Its never fun to have things ruined, so I appreciate everyone's words of advice. When I woke up yesterday, It hit me like a ton of bricks that I was being utterly ridiculous. It is just a bag. JUST A BAG. Talk about the epitome of a high class problem. Here I am, losing my mind over a silly purse when the people of Japan have serious problems. Wow. So I can't lie- I am pretty ashamed of how upset I got over this debacle. However, I am incredibly blessed with friends who will be there for me regardless of how silly my problem is. With that being said, word of advice- Don't leave your purse on a stove. You never know what might happen. Thats is for now! XoXo- Caroline

Sir Elton + Caroline = Utter Happiness

So a few weeks ago, Kevin and I took a mini vacay out west. We had originally planned on staying in Laguna Beach for the entire trip, but after looking at the unseasonably low temps & monsoon-like weather forecast,we decided to only stay in So Cal one night, and then head to Vegas. Insane, right? Fly across to the country only to immediately turn around & drive an additional 3.5 hours? What can I say...Warm weather,free adult beverages, & gambling are huge motivators for the G's :) (Side note-That pic is the view from our hotel room at Caesars. Amazing!)

In all honesty, Kevin and I were not prepared for how beautiful of a drive it was going to be for us.

I mean, how stunning are those mountains?? We literally drove through every terrain you can imagine, from deserts & rolling tumbleweeds to snowcapped mountains. It was absolutely stunning. But once again, Ive completely gone off subject. Sorry yall. Staying Focused :) So during this 3.5 hour car ride, Kev & I had multiple conversations about music, bucket lists, etc. One topic arose around the question "If you could see anyone in concert, who would it be?"-- Kevin chose the Eagles, whereas I (obviously) chose my main man, Elton John. Yes, I am completely aware that he is very gay (not that there is anything wrong with that) and his music became popular when Big P (my dad) was in high school. However, the man is a flippin rockstar. I mean, who else can get away with wearing bedazzled feathers & huge sunglasses (okay-aside from Christina A immediately post Burlesque.)??

Answer? Um, no one, duh. I have been oddly obsessed with his music since early high school. There probably isn't a mixed cd I made between 1999-2006 that doesn't have one of his songs on it. The man doesn't do bad music. So, while driving from CA to Vegas, I was actively trying to convince Kev that we should fly to one of his random tour dates in the US this spring. Hello? Anyone up for his Boise, Idaho show? Yeah.. Kevin wasn't either. Dang. But wait, Low and behold, I wake up on Monday morning, and the Courier-Journal is reporting that Sir Elton is coming to Louisville April 15th. O.M.F.G. I'm pretty sure I called Kev, my mom, and Big P all within about 5 minutes to tell them my fantastically amazing news. Shockingly, none of them were all that pumped. Repeat this same reaction about 10 more times with my girlfriends. And all of my co-workers. And my customers. Bahahahahahahaha. Don't worry, their lack of enthusiasm did nothing to derail mine... Although, I've now come to the realization that I am probably the only person under the age of 40 who is this excited about his concert, which is fine. My fabulous husband has agreed to escort me... And while I'm crossing something off my bucket list, everyone else is going to be missing the music stylings of a rock legend. But if this doesn't at least make you love him a little bit, then I can't help you :)

In short, Elton John Concert = Winning. For Sure.
Thats it for now yall! Xoxo- Caroline

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

As the title suggests, yesterday was pretty much horrific on numerous accounts. I absolutely adore my job, and love that I am able to help provide solutions to people in poor health. However, working for a huge corporations has its downfalls. I won't go into the insane details, but lets just say by 5pm yesterday, I was in tears. Not like one single glistening tear, more like meltdown with a side of inconsolable to go along with....Bless Kevin's heart- The man just couldn't win. He tried dealing with all my crazy, but I was on another level of drama by this point. Honestly, who cries about work stuff at age 25?? Get it together. I think I just needed to throw myself a pity party before I could handle any type of meaningful conversation with another human being. So, while trying to console myself, my little diva fatsed in the room, and decided she wasn't going to leave my side.

Meet Fat Lucy. I probably have about 25 pictures just like this... because this is seriously how she sits a solid 50% of the time. It's like she is patiently waiting for her manicurist to come file down those claws. Fat Lucy follows me around like she is my side kick, and is by far my favorite cat out of the 3 felines that we own. Yes, I said 3, and no, I swear I am not the crazy cat lady. I just have this terrible habit of being unable to so NO to the adoption people at PetSmart. I have literally banned Kevin and I from every going there on an adoption Saturday EVER again. I swear, those humane society people have perfected the art of the jedi mind trick, and can talk us into anything. Like 3 cats. And a dog. I'm mildly terrified that the next time we go we'll end up with like a camel or something else awkward and weird.

However, we did find our sweet Hudson there. What a handsome devil. I wonder what person with fantastic taste selected that flattering Halloween outfit?!? Hmm :) Hahaha. Anyway, back to fat Lucy, I know it sounds crazy, but I swear she senses when I am upset. Anytime I start to cry, She will come out of the woodwork like a ninja and will try to sit on my lap like shes ready to hear all of my problems. Or maybe she just knows that my hysteria clouds my judgement and in turn, I will give her a piece of cheese. Regardless, its extremely comforting. After about 5 minutes of quality bonding time with the diva (I can almost sense the eye roll stemming from that statement. haha), I finally calmed down, and realized that I could do absolutely nothing about the events of the day. A former boss of mine always reminded me that I can only control the controllables. Yes, I can go into lengthy detail of what my real opinion is about UPS's lack of efficient deliveries or my distaste about my rude driver, but it won't change a darn thing. Once you put all of that into perspective, I believe it makes life just a tad bit easier to deal with. SO, with that, heres to better days ahead! xoxo-Caroline

Monday Monday....

To be honest, I was pretty excited for Monday to get here.  I was seriously locked up in my house all weekend like a teenager being grounded for missing curfew.  Believe it or not, I did garner more sympathy for my sick husband as the weekend droned on.  He even admitted last night that my nursing skills have improved.  I would love to say that I realized the importance of providing compassion, but in all reality, I found a good buddy to keep me company during the rainy weekend.

If you all do not subscribe to this wonderful service, I suggest you get your mind right, and make the $8/month commitment.  It will change your life.  Kevin and I were bored a few months back, and decided we were tired of paying $4-5 per on demand movie.  Our cable bill was getting out of control. I know what you're thinking- Why not just go to redbox? Umm, well, I seem to be mildly retarded in returning those.  (We may or may not have purchased the Hangover and Grown-ups for the bargain price of $25 a piece, due to my forgetfulness.  Oops)  Insert Netflix.  You can literally find just about any show, movie, or documentary ever aired through Netflix.  My favorite aspects? You don't have to go out to pick up the dvds, and you can stream it through your mac, iphone, etc.  I have a new obsession with watching shows that I have previously missed out on, ie: I've most recently watched the 1st season of Brothers & Sisters, and I fully intend on taking my phone with me to the gym to watch more episodes.  It was my saving grace for dealing with Kev's illness.  

This little gem also kept me entertained on our recent travels out west.  For those of you who know me well, I am extremely A.D.D. on trips.  In the car, on a plane, doesn't matter, I get bored quickly. Actually, just picture traveling with an 8 year old, who constantly asks, "Are we there yet?"- and that is the essence of me on a trip. Who am I kidding? I am pretty A.D.D. in most every setting.  Picture me in my MBA class tonight from 6-10. Good lord, its ridiculous. My A.D.D. comes out in full force, which leads to be perfecting my bubble letters, picking out my fictitious future children's names, keeping current with twitter, etc.  Anyway, I wonder if i can sneak in a Brothers and Sisters episode while my teacher is lecturing

Speaking of which,one might think it would be hard for a professor to talk for four hours straight, right? Uh, no. My current professor can straight talk anyone under the table, including my mother, which is beyond impressive. But I digress. Message of the day- Invest in a netflix subscription. You'll thank me for it- especially when your significant other holds you captive bc of the flu. Thats it for now! xoxo- Caroline . 

Sick Days

I've determined that I've lost a bit of my compassion. Maybe it stems from the fact I visit 9-10 doctors offices per day & I hear every complaint possible from people while I'm in the waiting rooms. (Yall don't even know the half of what I hear/see/smell in my offices- but thats a topic to discuss another day. A highly entertaining one too, I might add!) Or maybe I've turned into a skeptic, because my mother is a nurse, it has made me cynical & unsympathetic of people's symptoms.  Regardless, my philosophy on most health complaints is that you should take some aspirin, drink some O.J., and roll on with your bad self.  Unfortunately, this doesn't bode well in a marriage.  For example, Kev came home yesterday complaining of cold-like symptoms.  Per usual, I told him to man up, take some dayquil, and move on!

    Men and sickness. Good lord. You would've thought he was dying. Literally, he told me at least 10 times that he didn't feel good, and he also asked me an additional 8 times if he looked sick.  I think it is also necessary to mention that he was yelling at me for my lack of sympathy by saying "You took vows! In SICKNESS & in health! Own it!" O.M.G. Two words: Drama Queen. Hahaha- wonder who he picked up that tendency from?? 

   Anywho, after the meds, he seemed to be okay for the remainder of the night, so I thought my remedies did the trick. However, he woke up today with the stomach flu. Dang. My remedies aren't the cure-all I thought they were.  Kevin also reminded me today of his bout with bursitis.  He may have had a hugely swollen knee a few months ago, and I told him it was probably just a mosquite bite that was swollen.  Then, he ended up in the emergency treatment center, getting fluid out, getting referred out to a specialist, and finally being put on antibiotics. Again, dang. My bad. 

  My dad always scolds me about my medical expertise, and asks "So, honey, I forget, where did you go to med school?" hmmphh. Point taken. So yall, lesson learned. Although I am around medical professionals all day, every day, I am probably the worst person ever to give my opinion on a medical issue. Unless its in the neuroscience arena, I am complete moron.  Thats it for now. XOXO- Caroline

So long Facebook... Hello Blog World!!

So after six years of being a devoted Facebook member & avid fan, I decided today that it was time to deactivate my account. With 1300+ friends, I got worn out. Did I really care if John Doe was going to go get coffee with John Smith? Ummmmm No. Did I really need to know what every single person I graduated with was doing with their lives? Ummm, again, thats a big negative. Actually, I firmly believe that there should be a contract that every person should sign before Mark Zuckerberg accepts them as a member. One that permits people from a) Discussing their children's afflictions (bms, colics, etc). TMI people. TMI! b) Reposting ANYTHING (ie: its (insert blank) week, repost if.... Its never any real week. These people just sit at home and think of meaningless weeks to make themselves feel special. c) Changing their profile pictures on a daily or weekly basis. I'm sorry, but no one changes that much within a week's time. d) Requesting other people to join in on games. Hi, I am not a 10 year old gamer. So, no, I do not want to play a game with you. I work for a living. And finally e) Meaningless song quotes that are specifically aimed at someone. Man up, and just tell them what is on your mind versus posting it via Facebook. Okay, my rant is over. From this day forward, I will stick to blogging and twitter.
SOO- needless to say, I am just super excited to get this blog up & running. A few of my friends have truly amazing blogs, and they have been my inspiration for starting this little ditty. I have huge standards to keep up with there, so be patient with my very beginner blog/posts! I can't promise it'll always be pretty, but I'll be sure to make the inter-workings of my life as entertaining as possible :) And if you know me, my husband, or our families, that should be a pretty easy promise to keep! Thats it for now. Xoxo- Caroline