Good Christmas

On Thursday December 23rd we had our first Tacky Christmas at King GREEN.  I wasn't as tacky as some but I still got some good laughs out of my "get-up".  It kind of reminded me of an 80's skiier.

Yes, I totally unzipped the hood from my winter coat and wore it on my head

I have to say how happy I am we had a white Christmas - - - so wonderful.  I know a lot of people don't like snow but I LOVE it.  It's so few and far between whenever we do get some that accumulates that any little bit is EXCITING!!

At Hardy's family Christmas swap, I ended up with a Japanese Cherry Blossom gift basket (yay), Hardy got what he brought, some 3 pack beer sampler from World Market.  Between our gifts from one another...we got enough movies to watch for several days.  My favorite gift of course would have to be the tickets to 30 Seconds to Mars on January 28th!!  Ahhh I can't wait.  I missed them the last time they were in ATL this year so I'm so happy I get to see them now.

Can't be a bad evening when you get to see the Leto brothers :)

Jared in the middle and Shannon on the right



Merry Christmas!!

I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope that you all enjoy time with friends and loved ones. I am also still crossing my fingers for snow :) they have increased the chance every day this week.

Thank you!

Just got word my grandmother is being released from the hospital today!! This is so unexpected but we are all so thankful. I hope she continues to grow stronger everyday!! Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers!! Praise God!

Finally

With only 3 weeks left in the month of December, we FINALLY put up our Christmas tree. I have been on the hunt for a new one all season but never found the right tree or price. I gave in and decided to just put up the one we've been using the last 3yrs. The reason I'm tired of it though is because it's not as FULL as I would like to see our tree...even though I spread out all the little limbs...you still see gaps. Not to mention 2 limbs on the bottom on one side of the tree are about 1inch lower than the rest of the lower limbs because of two cats who attempt to climb the tree and knock off ornaments. We have learned over time not to put breakable/valuable ornaments on the lower half of the tree and I try to wrap our gifts as soon as they're bought so we can block them getting under the tree.


Who am I kidding? Cats . always . find . a . way .

I wanted to share this picture of one of our new ornaments for 2010. During our honeymoon in May we made a short pitstop at Disney, I made sure to look for a 'married' ornament (I'm trying to get a new ornament each year). I came across this adorable Engagement Ring with Mickey and Minnie sitting in the middle as bride and groom. I just love it :)

I'll be honest though, all I can think about is my grandmother in the hospital recovering from chemotherapy. I know people get sick, I know people pass away but it feels so much different when it's one of your own. I hope by some miracle she's at home by Christmas but we're taking it one day at a time. My mom, brother, sister-in-law and I are planning to donate platelets on Christmas Eve. If you or someone you know would like to donate platelets in my Grandmother's name, please contact Atlanta Blood Center at 404-459-8744 to schedule an appointment. Atlanta Blood Services' main location is located on the Northside Hospital Campus at The Tower at Northside at 5670 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Suite # 1075, Atlanta GA 30342. Atlanta Blood Services' second location is in Cobb County - 220 Cobb Parkway North, Suite #100, Marietta, GA 30062. If you decide to donate blood or platelets, please give them Betty Fulbright's name so they can connect the two.

Visit with my grandmother

Hardy and I got up fairly early for a Saturday today to make our way to Northside hospital.  It was kind of akward walking into the place where I was born, yet haven't been to SINCE I was born.  But I guess that's actually a good thing...

Anyway

We visited with my grandmother, granddaddy and cousins for a little while before my appointment to donate platelets.  She looked good but was weak and had trouble talking due to some fluid build-up around her lungs.  The good news is that they're completely done with chemo.  She had it twice a night Mon-Fri and now she starts her recovery from that.  I hope she doesn't lose all her hair or get so sick she loses weight but I know none of it is preventable. 

I was nervous about donating platelets, I've donated blood several times but never platelets and for whatever reason my brain was telling me I was going to freak out?!?  Anyway, because my grandmother has leukemia they're asking that friends/family donate in her name to help replenish the bank they've been using for her.  Now that they've blasted her with chemo, they're giving her blood and platelets often.  Well I got situated at the Atlanta Blood Center, answered those awful questions and got prepped in a chair.  After they did a CBC, they came back and said my platelet count was 322 which was really good, enough platelets that I could donate to save 3 people's lives in one sitting. I was ecstatic...don't get me wrong, I hate the big needle, but when you think about what you're doing and who you're helping - -that needle doesn't seem so big anymore.


NOT FOR THE SQUIMISH:

How a platelet donation differs from a whole blood donation.  Mainly in that whole blood is extracted and collected in a bag to be used.  With a platelet donation, blood is extracted then is sent through a machine which seperates the blood and platelets.  Another type of solution is mixed with the blood to prevent it from coagulating and then your blood is sent back to you in the same needle in which it's extracted.  I also learned blood can be chilled after it's collected, platelets, however, cannot and only have a shelf-life of 5 days.  This is why they're almost ALWAYS needing platelets.  After about 10mins of donating, however, there was a problem.  Apparently when the nurse inserted the needle, she punctured my vein twice.  The blood was being extracted fine but when it was trying to come back into my system it was going into the tissue instead of the vein - - because there were two holes instead of one.  This hurt like hell, my arm hurt so bad, I couldn't feel my fingers until she finally pulled the needle out and relieved all that pressue.  Apparently this is called - infultration.  Unfortunately once that happens, they cannot continue taking your blood and you have to come again another day.

I felt so good to start off with and then my good vibrations went bad.  I was so happy to know I could save 3 people when in the end...I saved no one :(  and my arm still hurts like hell and has a yuck-tastic looking bruise.

This just made my day

Where did the time go??

For some reason, I just cannot comprehend it being December 1st.  I've noticed with age, Christmas seems to rotate (what feels like) every 6mos instead of every 12mos.  I can remember in 3rd grade (back when schools had Christmas parties) we were given a small ziplock bag full of fruit loops labeled as "Reindeer Food".  I put it out all over our sidewalk Christmas Eve, it's funny now to hear my mom talk about how big of a pain it was to try and pick those up and crush them so they looked nibbled on.  A little history on my famil, on Christmas Eve my mom would make a delicious roast dinner with mashed potato's, rolls, corn.  After cleaning up, we would open our gifts to/from eachother under the tree and then go to bed.  We were never allowed to sleep in our rooms for fear we would 'peak in' on Santa, so we always made a pallet on the floor in my parents bedroom and fell asleep listening to Christmas tunes on 98.5 or 94.9.  Ahhh the memories, they seem so vivid.  
 
Hardy proposed on Christmas morning 2009, so this year will be special...waking up and remembering that moment.  And even though it's not our first Christmas together, it's our first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs.  A moment I was beginning to think would never happen!! 
 
Things of the season that make me happy:
 
Spending time with family
Listening to Christmas music
Christmas lights
Seeing Christmas tree's through windows
Overcast skies that make me think there could be snow
Watching Christmas movies: The Santa Clause (1, 2 and 3), How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, A Christmas Story, Frosty the Snowman, Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, Home Alone and Prancer (remember that one?!!)...anyway the list goes on.
 
Grandmother update:
 
She is still in good spirits (thankfully).  They've already done a few rounds of chemo since Monday.  I'm so proud of her and happy she decided to go ahead with treatment.  The doctor's were and still are confident that this will work.  The staff at Northside seems to be kind and very helpful.  Keeping you in my prayers Grandmother :)