surprise!

in my 26 years of existence, i have rarely been involved with surprise parties. i see them all the time on movies and tv or hear about them through other people- but just haven’t experienced many of them myself.

this past week, i not only attended a surprise party, but i got to help plan it. my mom (after earning the title of “teacher of the year” not once, but twice) has decided to retire. and what better way to end your years of teaching than with a huge goodbye party full of margaritas, memorable stories and a lovely ambush from your friends and family?

it was very special to see the way my mom’s coworkers care for her. every single person in attendance had something wonderful to say about her. and while my sisters and i already knew it all was true- it’s still nice to know other people take note of her superior qualities as well. by her friends, i believe she was known as “the keeper of books,” “the wizard of technology”, an “event planner extraordinare”, and a “sweet angel” just to name a few. she was given a memory book full of letters from everyone as well as homemade cards from many of the students. needless to say, there were plenty of tears shed.

my favorite moment of the entire night, however, was my mom’s reaction to jackson and palmer (my nephews) appearing from behind the crowd of people. just as my mom was hit with a room full of people clapping and cheering for her, her two grandsons, who would have normally been in bed down in charleston, were there to celebrate as well. it was such a great moment.

cheers to you mom! you deserve it!

retirement party montage

i’m back! (without a back…)

ok, so maybe that title could have been more clever…

disclaimer: this may be much longer than i intended… but i’ve got about 4 months of blogging to make up for. also, i apologize in advance for bad grammar or misspelled words. 

i’m young, i eat healthy (most of the time) and i exercise daily. i get enough sleep… wear sunscreen… laugh a lot… i do all of those things we’re “supposed” to do. so it’s absolutely crazy that i woke up thursday morning and couldn’t move.

i rolled my eyes when i saw i had woken up at 5:30 in the morning. i laid there completely annoyed and decided to reposition myself so i could attempt to get those 2 extra hours of sleep in. that’s when i realized all the muscles in my upper back were completely locked up. i couldn’t turn over, i couldn’t prop myself up on my arms, i couldn’t even reach far enough over to turn on my lamp without pain shooting through my entire body. breathing deeply wasn’t an option either which was very inconvenient considering i was in the middle of a panic attack.

something similar happened in college the day before i was headed to Punta Cana for spring break. I reached back to put my arm through a jacket, and boom. immediate contortion of my body as if all the muscles in my back and torn away from my spine. through yelps of pain, my roommate, byrd, was able to transport me to Clemson’s infirmary. after we convinced the nurses at redfern that i was definitely not pregnant, they set me up with muscle relaxers and pain killers without much of an explanation. the next 3 or 4 days in the dominican republic were quite a blur- but after that, i was back to normal like nothing had ever happened. so weird.

back to yesterday- it took me about an hour to shuffle through my room, put on a pair of pants and shirt, and try to brush my hair. i think it took another 30 minutes to put a pair of shoes on. i called my boss, laura, on her phone and tried to explain how much pain i was in. she advised me to come to the office and we’d sit down and find a general practitioner here in greenville i could call my own (i’ve lived here over a year and still haven’t had to visit a doctor- yay me!)

when laura saw me struggling to get out of the car, tears streaming out from my large moviestar sunglasses and an outift that suggested i found it on the floor, i think she realized how much pain i was talking about. i kind of looked like this (without the smile):

hunchback of notre dame

laura sweetly chauffeured me to greenville hospital’s md360 building where i was quickly called back for further evaluation. i positioned myself awkwardly on the edge of the bed leaning most of my weight on my left hand with my right foot dangling in the air. super awkward.

although it was most likely minutes, i felt like hours passed before a doctor came in. i explained briefly what had happened that morning as well as what happened 4 years prior. i was counting on getting prescriptions written and out of there as quickly as possible. however, as he began feeling my back, when he pressed on my muscles, nothing hurt like i (or he) expected it to. all the pain was on the inside of my body, surrounding my lungs. he voiced his concern that i could have blood clots in my lungs or some sort of walking pneumonia. awesome.

so i had to get xrays, and i’m thinking WHAT?! …i’m also thinking like a grown up and wondering how much this is all going to cost me (count on me to worry about something like that when i’m in the worst pain of my life)…

i’m in a wheelchair by this time on my way to the radiation room… another adventure that should have taken 10 minutes but took 45 minutes because i can’t move, and no one seems to get this. the xrays come back completely fine- but that’s just not good enough… a nurse preps me for an IV and i’m told i have been scheduled for a cat scan over at greenville hospital.

i’ve never had a cat scan before, and was hoping i could go through life without one… but there i was, an hour later, scared to death on a table surrounded by strangers looking at my insides. 20 minutes later, i’m done with that torture and again, find out there is nothing unusual with the results.

i finish at the hospital and laura and i are greeted by my sweet, sweet mother who has driven from work to make sure i’m ok. of course this would all happen a couple days before mother’s day- just when i want to be the one treating her and pampering her and letting her rest, i realize that even at 26-years-old, i’m still her daughter and she’ll always be there for me.

fast-forward 22 hours: i’m laying in bed motionless with a magical heating pad covering my back, wanting more than anything to be up walking around getting ready for work. i can see through my window how beautiful it is outside, but i’m cooped up in here, surrounded by my three friends, prednisone, lortab and valium. i have tickets to michael jackson’s cirque du soleil on the line (courtesy of the wonderful lacey hennessey)… and as the showtime quickly approaches i’m getting more and more depressed that i won’t be able to enjoy it this time.

thank goodness i have access to my long-forgotten laptop, as well as time to write something here so that i can look back on 2012 and realize what a lousy blog-writer i’ve been…

love day

hope everyone enjoys their valentine’s day!

it’s been awhile since i crafted together a group of valentine’s… made me miss elementary school a little bit!

my office treats

let’s dance.

this past weekend i was thrown into, or more accurately, “twirled into” contra dancing. my friend anna raved about this particular style of dancing and eventually convinced me to make the trek to marietta, south carolina to try it out. it was unreal!

i took a really short video- however the following doesn’t do justice to how the atmosphere truly felt…

imagine an old lodge lit up with christmas lights, 150+ people, a live folk music band and everyone doing choreographed movement. contra dancing is similar to square dancing in that there is a caller, however it differs because you dance your way through a line of partners, switching neighbors all the way down. it’s quick, keeps a smile on your face, and doubles as 3 hours of cardio. it’s also a huge step out of anyone’s normal comfort zone considering you dance with a different guy (stranger) every 30 seconds and are pretty much forced to make eye contact so you don’t get dizzy.

dancing at river falls lodge in marietta, sc

i felt like one of those little ballerinas in a music box-except spinning 20 times as fast. i really did have a great time learning- it’s something anyone can catch on to very easily. the dance is taught slowly at the beginning of each song, and then you follow the caller and let your partner lead you through the movements. i was a little timid when it came to jumps, dips or even flips, but i really enjoyed watching other people do them- it looked like a mix between swing and contra.

gettin' serious!

will i go again? yes. will i ever be as good as the people i danced with saturday night? most likely not. for any who have never tried or even heard of contra dancing before- i highly suggest you look into it. there’s nothing like doing something completely out of the ordinary every now and then…

oh, and remember that time i almost went a month without posting? me either.

it’s going to be a good one…

happy new year everyone! i had an amazing time ringing in 2012 as i watched the avett brothers perform. being at the concert while the ball dropped was so exciting- i was surrounded by thousands of people counting down, and at the turn of the year, balloons covered the entire venue. i absolutely loved it! it was definitely a 26th birthday to remember.

i’m one of those people who gladly welcome the new year. i hope for change… new adventures… growth. i’m always sure to set goals for myself. besides the usual bundle of resolutions (eat healthy, stay in shape, be positive, etc.) that everyone seems to have, i’ve got a new goal in mind for 2012: to learn to sew.

i was surprised at christmas with a brand new sewing machine and couldn’t have been happier. i’ve attempted to make a couple things in the past, but never really picked up any skill. who knows what i’ll decide to stitch together this year…

now i just need a craft room...

and i quote…

thanksgiving thoughts

did you know…

• the average american consumes 4,500 calories on thanksgiving day… mmmmm, mashed potatoes and gravy
• seafood and venison were most likely served at the first thanksgiving, not turkey
• President Roosevelt moved thanksgiving from the last thursday to the 4th thursday of november to allow for a longer holiday shopping season
• 46 millions turkeys are expected to be consumed on thanksgiving in 2011
• the detroit lions are the reason why there’s football on thanksgiving
• the night before thanksgiving is the single biggest day for bar sales in the US (bigger than the superbowl, new years eve… even st. patrick’s day)

i absolutely love thanksgiving and everything it stands for. this year, i’m thankful for living in greenville. it’s a growing city with tons of opportunity, it puts me in close proximity with my supportive family, great friends and is right down the road from God’s country (clemson). i’m thankful i was given a great job this year and that it has me doing work i actually enjoy. i’m thankful that my family has grown from 5 people to 9 and that we all continue to get closer as we get older. and on a much lighter note, i’m thankful for aveeno chapstick, hot yoga and modern family- all of which keep me happy on a daily basis.

i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving- however you may be spending it. go tigers!