The things in my brain today.

It's just one of those days when I need to have a random outpouring of thoughts.  Please enjoy.

• So, last weekend I thought I was dying.  Do you remember back around Halloween time when  my tonsils were bleeding and I had to go to the hospital for penicillin?  And then had to go back four days later because I had an allergic reaction to said penicillin?  Well, both times the triage nurses told me I had high blood pressure.  With concerned looks on their faces.  And both times they recommended I see my doctor about that asap.  I have an appointment booked with my family doc in January, but in the meantime, I've been checking in with the google doctor, and he, of course, told me I was dying.  Awesome.
• I've been thinking about this high blood pressure problem off and on for the past month, worrying about it a little here and there, but for some reason, on Friday night, it came to a head.  I had a bunch of friends in for our Crazy Christmas Sock party, and we had a blast, but at the back of my head all night, I kept thinking, "I might be dying right now, and no one even knows it."  I forced myself to try not to think about it, though, and instead enjoyed my new festive punch, which I call "Rudolph's Red Nose".  We also played a little game to exchange our socks, had lots of yummy snacks, and played a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity.  Overall, it was a great night with the ladies!
  
  
  
  
  
•  After the party people left, I cleaned up a bit and went to bed, and proceeded to lay awake all night absolutely convinced that my heart was going to explode in my chest.  It was pounding so loudly it was all I could hear, and it seemed to be racing too.  I know I slept a bit eventually, but for most of the night, all I did was listen to my heart pound and gallop and fear that this was the end for me.
• The next morning, I went back to Dr. Google and asked him if I should be concerned about a pounding, racing heart.  Turns out, the answer is no, you don't need to be concerned, it's usually nothing more than the indication of anxiety or a panic attack.  So I guess I'd worked myself into such a tizzy over this high blood pressure problem that I gave myself a panic attack.  Just super.
• For the record, I don't think triage nurses should be pursing their lips with concerned looks on their faces and telling people they have high blood pressure.  Because usually, if you have high blood pressure, you want to try and lower it.  And I'm pretty sure I've done the opposite, stressing myself over it and convincing myself my heart was going to explode.  Not helpful, triage nurses.
• Thankfully, my mom had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and she talked to the doc a bit about me and my high blood pressure and my panicking over it, and he told her to tell me to CHILL.  He's pretty sure I'm not going to die, at least not before I see him in January, and that having high blood pressure does not mean my heart will explode.  And he also told her to tell me to stop googling.  He knows me so well.
• Now that I'm over my December Health Crisis, I feel like I can relax a bit.  I mean, yes, there are other things to stress over:  I have no money, and I still have a few odds and ends to get to finish off gifts, and I haven't started wrapping yet, and I have no time to watch movies, but at least my heart isn't going to explode.  It's the little things, y'know?
• I had a goal, and that was to finish watching Scandal before Christmas so that when I'm off the week between Christmas and New Year's, I could hunker down and start the Gilmore Girls.  But because I was spending all my spare time trying to squeeze in episodes of Scandal, I was having no free time to watch my Christmas specials and movies that I love.  There's only a short window of time to get them all in, and I haven't hardly watched any of them.  And on top of it all, Fuller House Season 2 hits Netflix on Friday, and I know I'm going to want to watch it too because it appears there's a lot of Christmassy stuff going down this season.  So, I have made the difficult decision to press "pause" on Scandal until after the holidays.  It will be the show I hunker down on when I'm off for a week, and the Gilmore Girls will be waiting for me when I'm done.  I'm sure I'll still get lots of cozy winter hibernating time with them as well.  
  
• So last night, I watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (original cartoon, because it's the best), and I started watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" but I fell asleep.  *sigh*
  
• Last night, I also tried out a new Christmas cookie recipe that I ended up LOVING.  I had so many candied cherries left over that I didn't use with my shortbread, and I was trying to find recipes that used them, but apparently they are ONLY used in shortbread or fruitcake (blech).  I did find one for Chocolate Cherry Nut cookies, though, and I had all ingredients on hand, so I made them, and they were SO GOOD.  Not the prettiest cookies I've ever made, mind you, but the taste more than made up for the appearance!
  
• My new favourite December thing to do is make popcorn in my new popcorn maker and hot chocolate in my new Starbucks mug that Shannon gifted me with, and cozy up on the couch to watch a movie.  OK, so I've only done it twice, and I always fall asleep as soon as the popcorn and hot chocolate is done, but whatever.
  
• Did I tell you guys I got new boots?  I got new boots.  And I HATE them.  I had another pair ordered that I LOVED, but, son of a bitch, the damn things wouldn't zip up over my fat calves.  It was such a shame, because they were $225 boots on sale for $87 from Sears.  So I returned them and ordered this other pair (mainly because they also were on sale), and I didn't like them from the moment I laid eyes on them, but I basically kept them because I just didn't want to be bothered returning them again.  And they were only $60.  But I think they're a bit too small, and they rub on my heels and give me blisters, and I'm only wearing them because I have no other boots to wear.  If I ever get my head back above water financially after Christmas, I'll be on the hunt for another new pair of boots.  GOD I had buying boots.
  
• The Christmas House Tour was on Monday night, and it was wonderful!  I forgot my camera, but trust me, the houses were beautiful, and all so different and unique.  We were a bit down in ticket sales this year, but I'm still calling it a big success, because everyone that came out seemed to have a great time and I've heard many positive reviews.  One of the highlights was the snowman in the tub at Mike & Bernice's, and I was lucky enough to have my photo snapped with him! HA!
  

Hope you're all having a GREAT week!!