Labor Day Picnic

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pic is a leftover Volleyball photo from Monday night. I'll try to have something a little different tomorrow... but I won't promise!

RANDOMNESS - B-12, Baby - Part Two - Let's see. Where did I end my "B-12" story yesterday? Oh, yeah. I was floor parenting. The bus bringing Mikie home had broken down. My Golf Ball Strep was getting worse by the second.

The kids were in bed after being semi-fed (peanut butter and Pop-Tarts) and semi-cleaned (sitting in a tub of water playing for a few minutes while I leaned against a toilet)... and I was semi-dead!

Mikie arrived home at 9:00 p.m., and my sister arrived at 9:05 to sit with the kids. I was ready. I had spruced up enough to head to the Emergency Room. I needed a shot. I wanted a shot. I didn't care what kind of shot. Anything to put me out of my misery.

"Belinda. It is just a sore throat. I think you could probably wait until the doctor's office opens in the morning. Here. I brought you some throat lozenges. Oh, and look. Here's some Tylenol."

I was too weak to kill him then, but I promised myself if I survived, he would pay later.

When we arrived at the Emergency Room, my Dad was waiting. He and Mom had just returned from their vacation, and he came to wait with us. I sat down and put my head on his shoulder while Tylenol Mike filled out the paperwork.

"You are burning up," my Dad said feeling my forehead.

"I know. It's up to 101.6," I whined.

"Well, it's okay. We're not leaving until they give you something to fix this," and I leaned against his comforting shoulder again.

Believe it or not, Golf Ball Strep is not a high priority in the Emergency Room. In fact, they'll take broken bones AND/OR bullet wounds before they see someone with Golf Ball Strep. Go figure.

By the time they did call me back, they correctly diagnosed me (Golf Ball Strep), gave me a prescription of antibiotics and some Tylenol for my raging fever. Daddy kissed me on my hot, smelly forehead and sent me home to recuperate.

But recuperate I DID NOT! Two days later, I wasn't any better. I called my doctor, and INSISTED on something stronger than the pills they had prescribed in the Emergency Room. They told me to "come on down," and they would "squeeze me in." Ahh. Four hours in a doctor's waiting room with three small children. Good times... good times.

Mom was available to drive and watch the kids in the waiting room, so off we went. After only TWO hours of waiting, they called me to the back. Hallelujah! Now, if I could only make someone listen.

"I need a shot. Something strong. Something potent. Something you would give an extremely sick horse. I have to be better soon. Do... you... understand?"

The nurse said she would be back in a minute... and when she returned she was carrying a tray. On the tray was a large syringe filled with Golf Ball Strep fixin' medicine.

I wasn't prepared for the size of the needle. I can take long, but this thing was thick, too. "Wow. That really, really hurts."

I wasn't prepared for the length of time the needle would stay inserted in my hip. "Wow. It's taking forever, isn't it?"

I wasn't prepared for how much the medicine would burn as it was slowly pushed into my body. "Wow. This is very unpleasant!"

During the five or ten minutes it took to administer the shot, she told me it was a B-12 shot. It was thick and it had to be pushed in slowly. Also, that was why the needle wasn't skinny... because of the thick medicine.

"You should feel better soon," she said as I left. I wondered when "soon" would come.

I had my answer one hour and 42 minutes later. "I actually feel better," I told Mikie over the phone. By the time he came home that afternoon, I felt like a human being again. By the next morning, my throat was not hurting, my golf ball was getting smaller and my fever was gone. B-12 was a miracle drug, I tell you!

The next year when I woke up with my annual Golf Ball Strep, I immediately called the doctor's office to schedule a B-12 shot.

"We don't just give B-12 shots. We would prefer you have a Z-Pack," the nurse responded.

"That's okay. I'm a B-12 kind of gal. I'll just stop by for my shot, and I'll be feeling great tomorrow!"

A little more back and forth with the nurse and all I received was the Z-Pack... which takes forever and a day to work.

I've asked for B-12 shots many times since that first shot almost 12 years ago. I have never been given another one. It makes me wonder. What is B-12? Does it no longer exist? Did someone kill all the B-12 plants in the rainforest making it impossible for pharmaceutical companies to provide this miracle drug? Do only "special" people get B-12? How do I become a "special" person?

That may be the only B-12 shot I ever receive, but I will always remember it fondly... and I will never stop searching for B-12. And one day maybe, just maybe, I'll find it again.

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! - Since Project 365 is quickly coming to an end, I feel a contest is necessary in order to properly celebrate this HUGE milestone. Here are the rules.

1. I have looked at the first 362 pictures in Project 365. (Pictures 363, 364 and 365 will be taken AFTER the contest begins, so they do NOT count.) I have picked my SIX favorite photos.

2. You must guess at least ONE of my favorites to win a $15 gift certificate to your favorite restaurant!

3. But wait! That would be too difficult, wouldn't it? I mean, there are 362 PICTURES to choose from! That is why I am giving you TEN guesses! That's right! TEN!

4. Leave your TEN guesses in my Comment Section TODAY! (You can also e-mail or send me a message via Facebook.)

5. You will need to specify which photos you think are my favorites by putting the day OR date of the pic. (For example, "Day 161, Day 5, Day 43, Day 62, Day 322, etc., etc.")

6. In the event of multiple winners, the FIRST person who correctly guesses ONE of my favorite SIX pictures will win the $15 gift certificate. Any other correct "guessers" will receive a smaller (but fun) prize.

7. I will announce the winner bright and early Thursday morning, August 26, 2010!

Hurry up and enter! The winner could be YOU!

Wednesday Wisdom - The humidity is better, but it is still summertime! Here a few quotes I found about this extremely hot season!

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken." James Dent

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." John Lubbock (I love this one. Time well spent.)

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." Stanley Horowitz (Beautiful!)

Labor Day Picnic

I love a good picnic. It's a wonderful way to officially end the summer season. I went "surfing" to get some ideas for menus, locations AND food. Start planning your Labor Day Picnic TODAY!

There are so many places to hold picnics. Your backyard or porch may be the perfect spot. But think about making it even easier on yourself and pick a spot away from home. Parks, lakeside, on a boat, a playground, or a pool are all wonderful locations. Choose the spot with your family's comfort in mind. Make sure there are tables and/or chairs if you aren't comfortable sitting on the ground. Always have a contingency plan just in case the weather is stormy on your picnic night. (A big blanket spread out in the den watching a favorite movie or TV show is always fun, too.)

Depending on the number of people at your picnic and the amount of space available, you can organize a game of croquet or kickball. Always take a Frisbee and/or football for tossing.

The alphabet game "Going On A Picnic" is a good way to calm down the kiddos after a bout of activity. ("I'm going on a picnic, and I'm taking Apples." "I'm going on a picnic, and I'm taking Apples and Bananas.")

Picnics are always fun, and can be so simple. Enjoying chicken fingers, fruit, cheese and crackers, homemade cookies and a cooler of favorite drinks with some of your favorite people in the world is a great tradition to celebrate the end of summer!

Have a fantastic Wednesday! Thursday I will be announcing the winner(s) of the Project 365 Contest (if there is one... or two... or three). I will also be introducing the NEW PROJECT LIFE website! And, of course, there will be Blog Linkage and Date information... as always. (Isn't it nice that some things NEVER change?)

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda