This and that

I love the mornings that I get to sit home and drink coffee before I have to get my day started. As much as I like getting out of work earlier in the day, I usually enjoy my afternoon shifts much, much more. Even though we're 10 times as busy in the evenings and I'd prefer to be home around 5 or 6 when Joe gets done, I really like the people I work with in the afternoons. Plus, we often form impromptu gatherings for after work. Last night we decided that we would all go out to Presque Isle and grill out once the center was closed (about 8pm). We had a great turnout and we were out there until about 10:30. It was a blast...I wish I would have brought my camera!

On days when I have an afternoon shift I usually have to be to work between 12 and 3, depending on my schedule. On those days I try to get up about the time Joe leaves for work (7:30ish or so) so I can get some things accomplished, like run errands, grab breakfast with a friend, clean the house, and so on. I also frequently see clients for the paramedical company during these times. It leaves me with a sense of accomplishment about my day. Today my task list is pretty small, but still significant.

The most important thing on my list for today is to find a dentist. I've had dental insurance for months, but I'm not a huge fan of the dentist. Plus, knowing that I need a significant amount of work isn't a great motivator. My childhood dentist is in the area and I could easily go to him, but I'm just not impressed with him. He did a root canal for me just before I moved to TC and that tooth cracked and broke off on Halloween last year. Also, I have so many cavities (mostly from when I was young) that my fillings are actually causing me to have more cavities because they provide crevices for bacteria and such to create more problems. My dentist in TC recommended I have inlays put on many of my teeth - basically they'll remove the fillings and place one solid piece over the top of my tooth, sort of like a crown but not around the whole tooth. In addition to that I need to crown the broken root canal tooth and I'm sure I'll have to look at options for one or two of my baby teeth, which is a whole other issue.

When you're born, you have both your baby and adult teeth in your skull, waiting to come in. I was born without 5 of my adult teeth, so those particular baby teeth never got replaced. One of them abscessed when I was 15, so I have a double porcelain bridge where it used to be in my mouth. I still have the other four, and while they are holding up, at least one of them is starting to decay at the gum line. So we'll have to problem solve for that one.

Before I was 16, my dental insurance wasn't too interested in covering all of these bridges and such because of my age. But I continued to see my dentist regularly from age 16-22, so I'm left wondering why he didn't suggest any of these solutions that the dentist in TC did. I had excellent insurance (my Dad works for the State) so they would have been nearly covered in full. This leads me to the conclusion that he either didn't know about these technologies or just didn't practice them. He is probably closed to retirement anyway.

So today I will find a dentist. I'm hoping to max out my coverage by the time Joe and I get married, then get added to his plan and max that out before they both reset next year. I plan on carrying both of our dental insurances until I'm done with all the work in there and then we'll drop one.

Also on my list of things to do today are the following: get the title of my car switched into my name (it's in my Mom's although I don't know why) so we can possibly trade it in for the truck we're buying, go to Alltel and discuss an issue with some incoming calls I've been having with my cellphone, catch up on my paramedical work, and possibly start the search for a psychiatrist here in Marquette. I'm not real excited about that last one - I've seen or worked with most of the shrinks up here and I don't like any of them, but I'd prefer to not manage my bipolar disorder through my primary care. She's a wonderful doctor, but she's not an expert. Sadly, my therapist retired while I was in TC, and while I'm not certain I need one right now I know I should probably look for a new one. *sigh*

Well, I'm off the to coffee pot and the rest of the day!

ugh.

I am sick.

I started feeling icky on Monday or Tuesday, but I thought I was experiencing seasonal allergies. I normally get allergies in the fall in the form of a scratchy throat, sneezing, and eventually the loss of my voice for a couple days. So when I started to get a sore throat Monday night I wasn't concerned. Tuesday brought some nasal congestion and Wednesday a dry, hacking cough. On Thursday my throat was wicked sore after work - just the sensation of air passing over it was painful. By Friday this has subsided a bit and my cough had become productive, so I figured I was on the upswing.

I was wrong. By the time I got to work my breathing was pressured and slightly painful, my pulse was in the 120's, and around 3:30 or 4 I spiked a fever of 101.7 (I'm sure I was a sight hooking myself up to the IVAC on the donor floor, but once I suspected a fever I knew I needed to confirm it and go home).

For the past week it's been in the high 80's in Marquette, which means our apartment is in the high 1000's. Still, when Joe got home he found me on the couch wrapped in a couple of blankets, still in my scrubs. The end table was covered in all of my sick-time necessities: sudafed, tylenol, a thermometer, cough medicine, kleenex, and propel, and my baby blanket was wrapped around my head to keep the light out because it hurt my eyes.

I don't deal with being sick very well.

I had to call into work this morning. I probably should have called in last night, but I always assume I'll have a miraculous recovery. I hate calling in sick. So much so that I had quite a few (most likely drug induced) dreams about it. Turns out I actually called in twice this morning because I couldn't decide if I'd dreamed that I called in or if I actually had.

I slept a lot today and have been feeling better in patches (right now is one of them). I woke up drenched in sweat around 4am, so I'm assuming that's when my fever finally broke. It's been under 100 ever since. I can't kick the headache or the cough and my body still feels like it's been hit by a truck, but I think I'm getting better. Based on the progression of my illness I'm guessing it's viral, but if I get another fever or am not feeling drastically better tomorrow I'll probably go to the doctor. For now it's fluids and rest though.

As I mentioned, I'm a huge baby when I'm sick. I'm whiny and pissy and not fun to be around. Joe has been doing a wonderful job taking care of me, which he attributes to the fact that (these are his words, not mine) the only time he gets to take care of me is when I'm sick because I'm always taking care of him when I'm not sick. It's very sweet of him to say that...but I know I'm a huge pain in the ass right now...so he gets some big time kudos. :)

Wedding stuff

As the weeks go by I've been picking away at all of the wedding plans we need to get into place. So far, here's what we've accomplished:

• I've chosen my dress and gotten measured for it.
• My bridesmaids have all been measured/ordered their dresses. As of right now I'm short a bridesmaid, but I'm not concerned about it.
• Joe has picked out the tuxedos for himself, my Dad, the groomsmen, our ushers, and his Dad (if his Dad chooses to wear one).
• We have booked a DJ and a photographer.
• The Ramada is booked for the reception and we've set aside rooms for our out of town guests. We'll also have the gift opening there on Sunday.
• Joe's sister has agreed to make our cake! (And Joe's brother's birthday cake).
• We've chosen the readings and Gospel for the ceremony.
• We've purchased various decorations and favors.
• The flowers are picked out and ready to order from www.2groses.com
• We've purchased the paper, envelopes, and other necessary items for the invitations.
• I've booked a hairdresser for myself and my bridesmaids.
• I've set a date for my bridal shower/bachelorette party (Aug. 24).

I'm sure we've gotten some other things accomplished, but here's what I know we need to get donw soon:

• Print, cut, assemble, and address the invitations
• Purchase postage
• Choose/ask ushers
• Choose a flower girl
• Arrange transportation for the day
• Nail down the details of the rehearsal dinner/bbq

We had a wedding planning session on Monday with some of the wonderful people at St. Paul's that are helping us through this process. Our ceremony plans are coming along well, but there are a few keys things we need here too:

• Confirm musicians
• Choose a few more pieces of music and corresponding performers.
• Ask a few people to be readers.
• Chose the specific language we'd like the presider to use
• Set up our pre-marital counseling

All in all I think things are going well, but there's still a lot to do. I guess I better get to it!