The thought of chronicling a 15 day trip is overwhelming and quite frankly I don’t want to do it. I went to Germany and Greece in the Spring and had a blast. Here are some pictures and a few captions to tell the tale, so that I don’t have to. Click where it says "Read More" to.... Read some more! --->
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Ed Note: This was written before I went on vacation in the Spring. Malomar is just as bad at posting as I am.
For starters, I’m not really a puppy, but Mom says I’ll always be her puppy so I just play along. That said, since my brother, Lincoln, has his own Facebook page, I get to be a “Guest Author” on Mom’s Blog. I don’t know what any of that even means, but if I get to talk about myself, I’m in! Mom is going away on a vacation soon so Lincoln and I get to stay with Grandpa at his big house in New York! There are stairs! And I’m allowed to run up and down them all I want! I’m even allowed outside without my leash! I love to run in the flowers and across the lawn. Sometimes I run across the street which makes Mom and Grandpa start a crazy game of Chase! I usually win because I can run faster. Grandpa is one of my most favorite people. Wherever he goes, I like to be right behind him in case he needs my help with anything. I’m a huge help, Grandpa says. Like when he puts up the Christmas Tree, or tries to vacuum or do laundry. I’m right there with him, making sure everything is just right. Lincoln likes to help too, but I think he really just gets in the way. He should leave the helping to me. Everyone knows cats are useless. I think Grandpa likes when I come visit because I find all of Herbie’s old treats that she hides in silly places, like the couch. I eat all of them to make Grandpa proud and show him what a good “finder” I am! Grandpa’s house makes a lot of funny noises that Mom’s house doesn’t make. It must be because it’s so big. I want to make sure Grandpa knows about the noises so I bark every time I hear one. It can be exhausting to bark that much, but I need to keep everyone alert so all sounds. It’s time for dinner now, but I’ll make sure to write after my vacation with Grandpa to let you know about all the fun times we have together! In July I went to Nags Head for a big family reunion. We haven’t been in years and it was so awesome to see everyone again. I am such a family girl and I miss them all so much. Getting back from that vacation reminded me just how much I want to be near all of them again. We’ll have to see how much longer this DC situation lasts. Some highlights from the week include: - The brothers getting their sister to float in a tube in the ocean... she promptly was swept away by the current and needed to be rescued about a mile down the beach. - Same sister getting a speeding ticket on the way to the beach and arguing down all week over the phone with the NC DA's office. - Sangria and seafood with my Aunts while the rest of the gang scaled Jockey's Ridge. - Beautiful weather ALL week - Fun mobile ride to Okracroke Island- great dinner with Dana, John and the kids. - The searchlight on the ferryride back.... looking for dolphins, or the port? - Cow lawn sprinklers (seriously cute... the hose hooks up the tail and the water pressure wags to water the grass) - Uncle Pete telling me a ship crashed into the pier and wrecked it when the lighthouse light went out... and me believing him. (It was actually a hurricane that did the damage) - Skyping with Rob This past weekend (7/27) I was at the beach for my friend’s Bachelorette Party and I expected to have a good time going out with some lady friends and spending a little QT on the beach. I did not expect to find a very handsome man with a very handsome name. For privacy reasons I won’t mention his exact name, but to give you a hint, it sounds like a country that recently hosted the Olympics :-) There isn’t a whole lot to tell, we were only at the beach for two days but I’m glad I got to meet him. He and his buddies were having a guy’s weekend and were staying in the house next door to ours. We spent hours talking one night and it was refreshing to meet someone new and have those butterflies again. It’s a feeling I haven’t had in some time. Unfortunately my handsome summer crush lives about an hour and half away so this will likely be the extent of what I have to say about him, but it was fun nonetheless and reminded me that good things are out there where I expect them the least.
This weekend was dear Amy’s Bachelorette Party in Dewey Beach, Delaware. Carpooling with some pals, we stopped at Dogfish Head Brewery on our way to the shore for a quick tasting. My travel companions are beer connoisseurs and I was just along for the experience but I really enjoyed it. After we wrapped up at the brewery we made the final leg to the beach. After meeting up with everyone we went out for dinner, drinks and dancing. The bars were a lot of fun and everyone there had the same agenda- have a great time. The next day we spent soaking up the sun on the beach until some storms chased us home. We spent some time with the boys next door and then got ready for our big bachelorette night out on the town. After a great dinner at Rusty Rudder we danced the night away and befriended some bachelor parties that were there for the same purpose. It was a great weekend and I loved getting to spend some quality time with my ladies Amy, Lindsey and MK. I don’t get to see them nearly enough! When I was in 5th grade, my teacher, Mr. Winters, told my mom I was squinting at the blackboard and probably needed glasses. To the eye doctor we went and out I came with some rad pink “glitter” plastic frame glasses. Seriously. Rad. After thoroughly embarrassing myself (and probably my parents) for the next few years, we decided I could get contacts in 7th grade. My competitive career in volleyball was beginning to present itself and I could not play with glasses, and refused to wear those goggle things. I was considered young for contacts, but I was “mature for my age” so it was all good. I remember holding the lens on my fingertip probably 8 inches away from my eye asking the doctor, “Am I there yet?” Despite a rough first go, I got over the weirdness of touching your own eye and began a 15 year journey with contacts. A journey that included countless eye infections, bazillions of dollars spent on contact lenses and weird mystery ailments that only happened in foreign countries (I’ve had to buy contact supplies in Germany and Hungary- not easy.)
But the journey came to an end on August 10th when I had PRK. Don’t ask me what it stands for, I have no idea. Google it. But it’s essentially a different version of LASIK. In LASIK, they create a flap on your cornea, peel it back and shoot the laser at your eye, flattening (or elongating if you’re nearsighted) the shape. Still with me? For PRK, it’s more or less the same, except there is no flap. They just laser that sh*t right on your eye. PRK is in the long term- more effective and more stable than LASIK, there are also fewer long-term complications (the LASIK flap can be knocked loose if hit in the eye, even years later). However, in the short term, PRK is a bio-tch. The day of my appointment, my Dad came down from New York and we drove to Old Town. During my prep I kept asking when I could take my Xanex and they kept telling me to wait. I finally snuck to the bathroom and took it. I was not about to have lasers shot in my eye without being under some influence. Once they take all the final measurements and whatnot, they bring you into the fishbowl. That’s what I called it because the waiting room can see into the operating room; you’re basically in a big fishbowl. They lie you down and move the big machine over your face. Numbing drops were administered a few minutes prior so you feel nothing with they put the little eye-lid-holder-upper in your eyes so you don’t blink. I was told to stare at the little red light and after 27 seconds of some beeping and a weird smell (yep), my right eye was done. They moved over to the left, lather rinse and repeat! All done! They do shoot cold water in your eye after which was probably the worst part. It’s like a brain freeze without the benefit of eating ice cream. They threw some sunglasses on me and we were out the door. The appointment took about an hour and half, the actual procedure, all of 2 minutes. Dad and I stopped at the grocery store to pick up my pain meds and all sorts of snacks and crap I thought I needed for my recovery. Turns out, I’d spend that recovery time in a mild coma or rambling dumb things to anyone who would listen and texting my buddy/co-worker Brett for an hour about how much I love watermelon. My Dad was a real trooper. He watched 21 Jump Street with me (just so I could watch Channing Tatum again). It was really great to have him there while I was recovering, I can only imagine the crap I’d have gotten myself into if I was unsupervised. Now I’m back at work, blind (not nearly, but I’m pouting) and cranky. PRK heals so slowly, so I feel like I’m wearing old prescription glasses. I put in eye drops every 17 seconds (or so it feels) and one eye is stronger than the other. I pep talk the weak eye everyday but he’s still struggling. Little guy should catch up soon. But this is all totally normal. PRK just takes longer to stabilize and I have to deal with it. In about 6 more weeks, I expect to have about 20/15 vision. Just in time for my trip to Africa! Pish posh, I know it’s been awhile. Let’s get down to it!
Some upcoming posts that will cover what I’ve been up to these past few weeks, er, months. - Guest post by Malomar (yes, the dog) - Spring trip to Greece - Family Reunion in Nags Head, NC (“OBX” to nouveau travelers) - Bachelorette Party weekend in Dewey Beach - Adventures in Eye Surgery - Upcoming trip to Africa |