Every year I get the flu shot and almost every year my friend Scott responds with, "you mean you got the 'Give me the flu shot?'" This year was no different. As usual, I got the flu shot and as usual Scott gave me a hard time about it. In fact, when I got sick with flu like symptoms about a month after receiving the flu shot Scott proudly announced that, "[he] told me so." I quickly disputed his claim and explained that it was probably sinuses but if it was the flu, then at least the flu shot mimimized severity of it.
So, this brings me to why I am posting this blog. On Sunday, my doctor (from Texas Medclinic) officially diagnosed me with type A influenza.
On Friday (12/26), my sinuses started bothering me and I also had a weird cough. Since Jacob was at the recovery stage of whatever he had (which we thought was also sinus related) I was convinced that it my turn to be hit with allergies. It isn't unusual for our allergies to hit us at different times because both of us seem to react to allergens in a staggered time frame (thank goodness we're usually not affected simultaneously).
However, by Saturday (12/27) I started feeling really tired and weak (I felt as though I had been working out all day long because my legs and arms felt like jell-o and were sore). My cough had worsed, my sinuses were killing me, I had a headache, and later that evening I started running a fever. I called my mom to let her know that I didn't think I'd make it to my aunt Rosemarie and uncle Jimmy's luncheon. She said I sounded really bad and that if I didn't get any better then I should go to the doctor because it sounded like the flu. She also explained that the flu was very dangerous which I had heard before but wasn't too concerned about.
On Sunday (12/28) Jacob and I were concerned because I still had a fever and I was extremely tired. We both headed to TexasMedClinic: Jacob to be seen for his congestion that wouldn't go away and me for my cough, aches, pains, congestion, etc. When we arrived, I decided to take one of their complimentary face masks because of my fever and cough. I was so tired that I had no problem taking a nap while we were waiting to be called (this was unusual for me so Jacob and I were both begining to be convinced that I might have the flu). The doctor evaluated both of us. He prescribed Jacob an antibiotic for his congestion that wouldn't go away and then did a throat and flu test for me, he explained that even though I had received the flu shot, he had already seen 2 cases where 2 other people contracted the flu even though they received the shot also. 10 min. later the results were in and I did have the flu. Now, what was scary was that the doctor sat down and said he wanted to explain a few things to me. It's never good when a doctor sits down to talk so at that point I began thinking, "I am so glad that I get the flu shot every year," because I suddenly realized how serious the flu really is. The doctor explained my options, what to expect, how to take care of myself and what to watch for with regard to serious complications. He also suggested that it is possible that my flu shot may minimize the severity of my flu symptoms. Jacob took me home and started taking care of me. Between teas, soups, tylenol, temperature taking, and tissue refilling he's been wonderful. Sadly, he's also been sleeping on the couch and has officially become Crystal and Chloe's midnight trampoline/wrestling platform. I owe him big! But hey, he did buy himself a PS3 to pass the time!
So far, although I've been super sleepy, congested, and weak, based on what the doctor told me to expect I truly believe that my flu shot is helping to minimize the severity of my symptoms. My fever has gone down, my legs and arms aren't sore anymore, and I had enough energy tonight to make it to the living room for dinner, t.v., and computer time. So, although, "[Scott] told me so," I am still very thankful that I got the flu shot!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Holiday Rounds
As usual, our holiday rounds began on Christmas Eve at Jacob's aunt Christina's house. We enjoyed rice, beans, deviled eggs, dips (including Jacob's world famous 7-layer dip), cheese, crackers, meats and sweets. I even brought some seasoned crackers which were a huge hit. The food was delicious! Oh yeah, there were also tamales for the tamale eaters. While we waited for midnight to strike, we attempted to play a game of Cranium. I say "attempted" because we had to modify the rules because we quickly learned that playing with 19 people can be very challenging. At midnight we opened gifts and we finally headed home around 2:30 am. (Yes, this was well past my bedtime).
On Christmas day we planned to go to 10am mass. We knew this meant that we would need to be awake by 8am so we could be ready to leave by 9am. However, since we had gone to sleep at 3:30am, I convinced Jacob that we should sleep a little more and go to the 12pm mass instead. He agreed. We woke up around 9:30am, got ready for church (wearing wrinkle free clothes because our iron stopped working that morning), and then as we headed out the door, Jacob wanted to make sure mass was truly at 12pm and not at 12:30pm. Yes, fortunately mass was at 12pm but unfortunately, 12pm mass was in Spanish! I thought it would still be worth attending but then Jacob pointed out that we wouldn't understand anything that would be going on. So, after researching a few other church options, we realized that based on our timing, along with our wrinkle free outfits (a.k.a., jeans) we probably wouldn't have made it to another mass in time and we would have really stood out as being under-dressed.
Later that day, we went to Jacob's aunt Martha's house. Normally, we don't have enough time to eat at Martha's house because we usually only have enough time to stop by to say hello before we rush off to my mom's house but because game night at my aunt and uncle's was postponed until the next day, my mom started her dinner later this year which gave us plenty of time to grab a plate of delicious food. We had rice, beans, ham, potato salad, and Jacob even had more tamales! We even had enough time to watch Roger Mason hit a game winning 3pt shot against the Suns. Go Spurs Go!
Next we headed to my mom's house where we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, rolls, fruit salad, and chocolate cheesecake. We opened gifts then my mom, my sister and my grandma teamed up against Jacob and me in a game of Mad Gab. It was a tied game and then my mom and I went head to head in the tie breaker match. Their team won with the saying "Me Tarzan, You Jane." I never would have gotten it, who speaks like that anyway?
On Friday we went to Mimi's to use my $10 off coupon for a late lunch (they're grilled cheese is exceptional but I was dying for some veggies mid-way through my sandwich; thank goodness Jacob let me eat some of his walnut and cranberry salad.)
After Mimi's we went to my aunt Rose and uncle Cesar's house for game night. We started the night by opening gifts and enjoying some munchies. We had pigs in a blanket, spinach and artichoke dip, chips, dips, veggies, cheese, crackers, and sweets. I had brought my seasoned crackers as a gift for my uncle and he (along with everyone else) really enjoyed them. Plus, Jacob even had some more tamales! I think he had a really good share of tamales this year! Then after everyone had arrived, the men vs. women showdown began. We started off by playing Partini. This was a new game for us and was great because it helped the women take the lead: 1-0. Next we played Cranium Wow. It was a head to head battle but the men came out ahead. The score was then 1:1. Sadly, we lost a few players but the tie needed to be broken. Using Pictionary as the tie breaker, the women blew the men away in landslide win! Yay! The women had finally broken the dynasty of the men and then we headed home. Side note: Jacob claims that the men only lost because they lost 40% of their team.
On Christmas day we planned to go to 10am mass. We knew this meant that we would need to be awake by 8am so we could be ready to leave by 9am. However, since we had gone to sleep at 3:30am, I convinced Jacob that we should sleep a little more and go to the 12pm mass instead. He agreed. We woke up around 9:30am, got ready for church (wearing wrinkle free clothes because our iron stopped working that morning), and then as we headed out the door, Jacob wanted to make sure mass was truly at 12pm and not at 12:30pm. Yes, fortunately mass was at 12pm but unfortunately, 12pm mass was in Spanish! I thought it would still be worth attending but then Jacob pointed out that we wouldn't understand anything that would be going on. So, after researching a few other church options, we realized that based on our timing, along with our wrinkle free outfits (a.k.a., jeans) we probably wouldn't have made it to another mass in time and we would have really stood out as being under-dressed.
Later that day, we went to Jacob's aunt Martha's house. Normally, we don't have enough time to eat at Martha's house because we usually only have enough time to stop by to say hello before we rush off to my mom's house but because game night at my aunt and uncle's was postponed until the next day, my mom started her dinner later this year which gave us plenty of time to grab a plate of delicious food. We had rice, beans, ham, potato salad, and Jacob even had more tamales! We even had enough time to watch Roger Mason hit a game winning 3pt shot against the Suns. Go Spurs Go!
Next we headed to my mom's house where we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, rolls, fruit salad, and chocolate cheesecake. We opened gifts then my mom, my sister and my grandma teamed up against Jacob and me in a game of Mad Gab. It was a tied game and then my mom and I went head to head in the tie breaker match. Their team won with the saying "Me Tarzan, You Jane." I never would have gotten it, who speaks like that anyway?
On Friday we went to Mimi's to use my $10 off coupon for a late lunch (they're grilled cheese is exceptional but I was dying for some veggies mid-way through my sandwich; thank goodness Jacob let me eat some of his walnut and cranberry salad.)
After Mimi's we went to my aunt Rose and uncle Cesar's house for game night. We started the night by opening gifts and enjoying some munchies. We had pigs in a blanket, spinach and artichoke dip, chips, dips, veggies, cheese, crackers, and sweets. I had brought my seasoned crackers as a gift for my uncle and he (along with everyone else) really enjoyed them. Plus, Jacob even had some more tamales! I think he had a really good share of tamales this year! Then after everyone had arrived, the men vs. women showdown began. We started off by playing Partini. This was a new game for us and was great because it helped the women take the lead: 1-0. Next we played Cranium Wow. It was a head to head battle but the men came out ahead. The score was then 1:1. Sadly, we lost a few players but the tie needed to be broken. Using Pictionary as the tie breaker, the women blew the men away in landslide win! Yay! The women had finally broken the dynasty of the men and then we headed home. Side note: Jacob claims that the men only lost because they lost 40% of their team.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Belated Holiday Pics
2 of my friends sent me holiday pics that I meant to post on previous postings, so here they are:
#1: Gag gift exchange at work. This year Janie (a co-worker) and I were in charge of coordinating our team's Secret Santa gift exchange/luncheon. Janie suggested that we do a gag gift exchange along with the Secret Santa gift exchange. I thought her idea was great because it was something we hadn't tried before. Plus it eliminated the stress of giving small gifts during the week. In order to keep the guess who aspect of Secret Santa, I suggested that each Secret Santa attach a tag to their gift that provides a clue about who the Secret Santa is for the gift recipient. Everyone had the option to participate in the gag gift exchange, the Secret Santa gift exchange, both exchanges, or neither exchange. The gift exchanges and luncheon seemed to go very well. We learned a little bit about each of the participants and we shared some good laughs. Here's a picture of Tony and the gag gift he received (he named "her" Lola). This was the one of the most creative gag gifts I had ever seen!
Sandra: Great job on the gag gift!
Janice: Thanks for the pic!
Tony & "Lola"
#2: Ben (my friend from work) was the photographer for our DPI Holiday Party so for the first time, Jacob and I took a "formal" picture at the Holiday Party.
Ben: Thanks for the pic!
Us at the DPI Holiday Party
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Busy Weekend
This weekend was packed with events.
Friday night (12/19):
We ate dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse on the riverwalk and exchanged gag gifts during our annual holiday dinner/gag gift exchange with a few close friends from work. We had some really good laughs (especially from John) and we also learned a few new things about some of our other friends (one, in particular).
Angie, Jessica, John, (Jacob behind John), Jen, Judy, Bruno, Dianna, Randy, Jenn, Scott & Tiffany
Saturday night (12/20):
Saturday night (12/20):
We ate dinner at Rio Mambo with Jacob's family to celebrate Beto's 27th birthday. The food was delicious and affordable.
Beto & his tres leches cake
Next we headed to Christina's (Jacob's aunt's) 40th b-day bash at The Stockyards. The place was really loud but the drinks were cheap and we got to meet a celebrity! Gabe Garcia was celebrating his birthday also! He even sang 2 songs while we were there. He seems like a really nice guy because he was willing to take pictures with anyone who asked. After a few drinks Monica and I even went over to ask him for a picture (unfortunately, my eyes look really weird; I had already had a few drinks and I couldn't contain my excitement. I'd like to blame my weird expression on the alcohol that was definitely settling in).
Next we headed to Christina's (Jacob's aunt's) 40th b-day bash at The Stockyards. The place was really loud but the drinks were cheap and we got to meet a celebrity! Gabe Garcia was celebrating his birthday also! He even sang 2 songs while we were there. He seems like a really nice guy because he was willing to take pictures with anyone who asked. After a few drinks Monica and I even went over to ask him for a picture (unfortunately, my eyes look really weird; I had already had a few drinks and I couldn't contain my excitement. I'd like to blame my weird expression on the alcohol that was definitely settling in).
Us
Gabe & Beto
Monica, Gabe, and Me
Sunday (12/21):
Sunday (12/21):
We went to SeaWorld for the holiday celebration. Jacob had been wanting to go on a cold day and it was definitely cold when we went. We were both bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets. I even had a scarf and gloves. It was nice being at the park when it was practically empty. We saw the Polar Express 4-d show; we fed the sea lions; we visited the sharks, clydesdales, and penguins; we listened to carollers; we saw the Clyde and Seamore show (Clyde wasn't cooperating); we rode the steel eel (our faces were practically frozen stiff); and we had some delicious hot cocoa! Unfortunately, we didn't last until the Shamu show but we're hoping to return for an evening within the next 2 weeks to catch the show before the season is over.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A Tale of Two Parties
On Dec. 6th, we went to Jacob's work holiday party and on Dec. 12th, we went to my work holiday party.
Jacob's party cost $10, a 7-layer dip, plus 2 white elephant gifts for the 2 of us to attend. The party was held at a neighborhood club house and about 70 people attended (which accounted for most of the people Jacob works with). The food was good and we had a good time watching people open and steal white elephant gifts. We came home with a box set of Planter's Peanuts (Jacob's gift) and a bright yellow, weird shaped bowl that I "stole" because it would make a great dip dish or more immediately, a great peanut bowl. :)
My party cost $66, $6 for parking, plus the cost of a new dress, for us to attend. The party was held at El Tropicano hotel (which we quickly realized was the hotel formerly known as the Four-Points Sheraton) and about 120 people attended (which only accounts for a very small portion of everyone I work with). The salad with ranch dressing and the rolls with sweet cream butter were delicious. The rest of the meal was not so great. Fortunately, we did have some cake towards the end of the night (yay for cake!). The emcee was someone from work who did a great job entertaining us. The door prizes were good, in fact we won a date night because Jacob won a GC to Malibu (who knew it was still open?) and Scott and Tiffany gave us their GC to Mamacita's (we rarely say no to free food). The AFPC coordinators did an excellent job ensuring everything ran smoothly. However, the hotel coordinator kept propping open the door that led to the smoking area (I have nothing against smokers, but I don't want to breathe their smoke); it was pretty disgusting (not to mention hazardous to our health). When one of the AFPC coordinators asked the hotel coordinator to keep the door closed he explained that he wanted the doors open to cool down the room and that running the a/c would make it too cold.
Which party would you prefer to attend?
Jacob's party cost $10, a 7-layer dip, plus 2 white elephant gifts for the 2 of us to attend. The party was held at a neighborhood club house and about 70 people attended (which accounted for most of the people Jacob works with). The food was good and we had a good time watching people open and steal white elephant gifts. We came home with a box set of Planter's Peanuts (Jacob's gift) and a bright yellow, weird shaped bowl that I "stole" because it would make a great dip dish or more immediately, a great peanut bowl. :)
My party cost $66, $6 for parking, plus the cost of a new dress, for us to attend. The party was held at El Tropicano hotel (which we quickly realized was the hotel formerly known as the Four-Points Sheraton) and about 120 people attended (which only accounts for a very small portion of everyone I work with). The salad with ranch dressing and the rolls with sweet cream butter were delicious. The rest of the meal was not so great. Fortunately, we did have some cake towards the end of the night (yay for cake!). The emcee was someone from work who did a great job entertaining us. The door prizes were good, in fact we won a date night because Jacob won a GC to Malibu (who knew it was still open?) and Scott and Tiffany gave us their GC to Mamacita's (we rarely say no to free food). The AFPC coordinators did an excellent job ensuring everything ran smoothly. However, the hotel coordinator kept propping open the door that led to the smoking area (I have nothing against smokers, but I don't want to breathe their smoke); it was pretty disgusting (not to mention hazardous to our health). When one of the AFPC coordinators asked the hotel coordinator to keep the door closed he explained that he wanted the doors open to cool down the room and that running the a/c would make it too cold.
Which party would you prefer to attend?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Christmas Luncheon
I love my job! Today we had our division holiday luncheon at the Marriott Rivercenter. The luncheon cost $25 per non-shinefund member or free for all members who were paid up (I finally paid all of my dues so I was able to attend for free). It was a great luncheon! (Yes, in case you haven't noticed a reccuring theme on this blog, I truly love to eat).
Carol, Janice, Me, & Greg
Fran, Elva, Sandra, & Kathy
The luncheon included an all-you-can-eat salad bar, pasta bar, chicken, pork chops, rice, veggies, assortment of breads, and dessert bar. I ate way too much (especially after finishing my meal off with 2.5 desserts)! After enjoying our meals, our division chief made a few announcements and then drew names for door prizes. The luncheon coordinator arranged for enough door prizes so that there would be a 50% chance for each person to win a prize. In fact 50% of our table won prizes, including me! It was a great way to spend a lunch!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Thanksgiving
Three years ago, I negotiated an agreement with Jacob for us to host Thanksgiving. Negotiating Thanksgiving back then was quite a challenge because I had to convince Jacob that it was woth it to him to host Thanksgiving even though it meant he would need to do most of the work. This was because I was in grad school and most of my time was spent studying or meeting with groups. Thanks to Dr. Plowman's negotiations class, I was able to negotiate and draft a contact that both of us agreed on (plus I was able to use my Thanksgiving negotiation as my final project, on which I earned an A).
Based on the success of that initial Thanksgiving at our house, Jacob has easily agreed to host Thanksgiving ever since. Thus, for the 3rd year in a row, we hosted Thanksgiving. Each year seems to run a little smoother than the previous year and we received a lot of positive feedback from our families suggesting that this year was the best year yet! I was especially glad about this because now that our families are growing (i.e., through marriages) we know that we might not be able to host Thanksgiving the same way, much longer. For instance, now that my cousin Cesar is married, his family now spends Thanksgiving game night with him, so you can see that we are slowly losing our attendees.
The details:
Our families arrived around at our house between 2-2:30 pm; we ate dinner a little after 3 pm (we had good variety of food, plus we had 3 sweetpotato dishes and 2 cranberry dishes); the football lovers watched football (which gave me some time to clean up a little), and the non-football lovers engaged in conversations with each other and helped me pick up the kitchen by packing up to-go plates for Jacob's grandfather (who wasn't able to make it to our house); we enjoyed delicious desserts, cocoa and coffee (my favorite part); and we played Turbo Cranium (my mom was a great puppeteer, Monica was a great puppet, and Jacob's dad was a great sensosketcher). After the game, we sat back and relaxed in the living room to wind down from the day. It was a great Thanksgiving!
Based on the success of that initial Thanksgiving at our house, Jacob has easily agreed to host Thanksgiving ever since. Thus, for the 3rd year in a row, we hosted Thanksgiving. Each year seems to run a little smoother than the previous year and we received a lot of positive feedback from our families suggesting that this year was the best year yet! I was especially glad about this because now that our families are growing (i.e., through marriages) we know that we might not be able to host Thanksgiving the same way, much longer. For instance, now that my cousin Cesar is married, his family now spends Thanksgiving game night with him, so you can see that we are slowly losing our attendees.
The details:
Our families arrived around at our house between 2-2:30 pm; we ate dinner a little after 3 pm (we had good variety of food, plus we had 3 sweetpotato dishes and 2 cranberry dishes); the football lovers watched football (which gave me some time to clean up a little), and the non-football lovers engaged in conversations with each other and helped me pick up the kitchen by packing up to-go plates for Jacob's grandfather (who wasn't able to make it to our house); we enjoyed delicious desserts, cocoa and coffee (my favorite part); and we played Turbo Cranium (my mom was a great puppeteer, Monica was a great puppet, and Jacob's dad was a great sensosketcher). After the game, we sat back and relaxed in the living room to wind down from the day. It was a great Thanksgiving!
My mom, Jacob's mom, and me trying to guess the song that Monica was humming.
Matthew and Jacob trying to guess what Jacob's dad was sculpting.
Neysa's B-day Extravaganza
On Nov. 29th, Jacob and I attended Neysa's 29th Birthday Extravaganza! The party was great! She had tons of good food (beef, BBQ chicken, pork, shrimp, potato salad, beans, rice, etc.), plenty of drinks (to include a margarita machine), and good music. Neysa's mom even made Jacob a small batch of her atomic habanero hot sauce.
We had a great time and we were excited to be back at Neysa's house after 11 years (the last time we were there, it was for a high school graduation party, c/o '97). Rosanna and I even reminisced about out senior lunch experiences which involved us being at ... well, I better not say where, since her parents still may not know where we went for senior lunch (Neysa, in case your parents are reading this, I'm refering to the exciting times we had in the cafeteria at Taft). : )
We're looking forward to the next time we all get together...hopefully sooner than 11 years from now. : )
We had a great time and we were excited to be back at Neysa's house after 11 years (the last time we were there, it was for a high school graduation party, c/o '97). Rosanna and I even reminisced about out senior lunch experiences which involved us being at ... well, I better not say where, since her parents still may not know where we went for senior lunch (Neysa, in case your parents are reading this, I'm refering to the exciting times we had in the cafeteria at Taft). : )
We're looking forward to the next time we all get together...hopefully sooner than 11 years from now. : )
Pitiful Cats
On Nov. 18th, after arriving home from work, I let Crystal and Casper play in the backyard while I stayed inside taking care of Chloe (she scratched the sides of her face so hard that she cut herself with her nails). After about 30-45 min., I went outside to check on Crystal and Casper and discovered that Crystal was no where in sight. After checking the backyard 3 times (just to be sure she wasn't hiding anywhere) I called Jacob and explained the situation and asked him to come home from work as soon as possible. Both of our neighbors checked their yards and still no sign of her. Jacob checked with the neighbors behind our house as soon as he came home. Meanwhile, I evventually checked the backyard again and discovered that she had returned. She was frantically running around the backyard while Casper barked at her and chased her around. Apparently he also was upset that she had escaped (and worse for him, had returned).
After we recovered her, we decided that she would never be allowed outside again without one of us with her. Ever since the incident, Chloe and Crystal both walk around the breakfast area, crying at the back door, begging to be let out. It's a very pitiful sight.
After we recovered her, we decided that she would never be allowed outside again without one of us with her. Ever since the incident, Chloe and Crystal both walk around the breakfast area, crying at the back door, begging to be let out. It's a very pitiful sight.
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