Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

• being off work due to A/C failure :)
• living in a home with air conditioning and the money to pay for it to run
• my fantastic husband who reminds me how much he loves me every single day
• that I can take off work tomorrow to be with him while he has shoulder surgery
• my Mom being willing to sit with my husband while he recovers from surgery for the next week while I work

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Tewsday 1.0

Happy Tewsday

I've gotta figure out how to make this blog more interesting. Just talking about my life seems so boring... And I need to load photoshop on my laptop so I can make cool icons and such like Sarah!

Oh and in case you don't know me in real life, I should probably explain the title. My new last name is Tews. I was informed by my in-laws that now I get my own day of the week :) So I'm kind of excited about "Tewsdays." I'm trying to come up with a theme for Tewsday blogs. Any ideas? I really like alliteration like "Tewsday Treats"...but what to put as content?

In other news, I'm taking up sewing (as soon as I figure out how to thread the needle in the machine...yeah yeah, I know it's a bad start ;). I'm going to start with patterns and baby clothes and use my friends' kids as models... These are my favorite babies/toddlers:

Cate & Violet

Hazel

Ewa (wish we got to see her more)

Hopefully, once I'm better at this sewing thing, I can do stuff like this chick, because it's kind of the coolest thing ever! In the meantime, I am going to try to come up with more interesting blog ideas...

And yes, I promise more wedding posts; I really want to get my photos back so I can talk about them :) My photographer was amazing so check out her work if you get bored: http://www.greatlovephotography.com/

Wedding Weekend- Part I

Well lots has happened since the last blog... I went to the ER, I got married, I went to the Bahamas, I changed my legal name, I started studying for my MSW (Master of Social Work) licensure examination, and I went grocery shopping (those who know me, know this is kind of a big deal).

So 3 days before the wedding, my Mom and I went to pick up my soon-to-be Mother-in-Law from DFW airport. We picked her up and went to dinner at carrabbas. I had a special of the day, a chicken dish with cream sauce and cheese with an Italian Margarita. It was fantastic conversation and I think the moms enjoyed meeting. On the way home I started feeling very sick, nausea, cramping and decided we needed to pull over. I was violently ill at several gas stations for the last hour of the trip home. I was so embarrassed... and miserable. I assumed it must be ill-timed and very inconvenient food-poisoning...Then the bleeding started. If you've never has colon bleeding, let me tell you, it's a little terrifying.

A little background, I have had trouble with my stomach since I was in high school. I became a vegetarian for a few years and that helped quite a bit, but it was really inconvenient, so I gave it up. Now I just don't eat beef. Anyway, it got really really bad when I started grad school (turns out stress made it worse) and I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease (after several trips to the Houston medical center and lots of crappy tests--no pun intended). I can tell you lots of funny and disgusting stories about living with Crohn's but the blood thing was totally new. Plus I have been in a solid remission for about the last 2 years with only minor, short flare-ups.

After 15 hours of this (and being up all night), the vomiting started and I decided it was time to take a trip to the hospital. So it's Friday, the wedding is in 2 days, guests have begun arriving in town, I'm supposed to pick up my college roommate and one of my best friends ('cause let's face it, the 4 ladies who were my bridesmaids are all my best friends) at DFW Airport in the afternoon, and my dad and I are sitting in the waiting room of the ER (Hadn't told the fiance I went to the hospital yet, because he was in Austin picking up family and I didn't want him to worry). And this wouldn't even be so bad, except that since it was Memorial Day Weekend, many people were visiting family in their nursing home and panicking at the sight of their love one's illnesses and calling ambulances. 21 nursing home patients were brought in during the first hour I was there; and apparently you have to immediately treat the nursing home patients regardless of who else is in the ER... So 4 hours later my dad reminded the nurse that I am still bleeding from my insides. Apparently, my dad is an intimidating person (heehee) and I got a room.

Once I saw a doctor, I explained my symptoms, Dad blurted out that I had Crohn's disease; differential diagnosis over! Any time you mention Crohn's disease to a doctor, nothing else matters... sprained ankle? Probably related to the Crohn's... Headache? I'm sure it's related to your Crohn's... You've grown a 3rd toe? Yeah, Crohn's can do that... WHAT?!? Anyway, long story short, they gave me IV fluids, pain-killer, and steroid medication. I had to cancel the "Pre-Wedding Weekend Kick-off Party" and my poor Amyfriend had to be relayed around by various friends (thanks, Sarah) to get her to my house. But the bleeding stopped and we were able to continue on the next day with wedding festivities...