And I’m Spent

I just can’t seem to get back in my grooooove since getting home from BlissDom. My house is a wreck. I barely have any clean clothes. I only actually cooked dinner once this week so far. And now here I am, the night before homeschool co-op, when I have to have all Joshua’s valentine’s stuff ready for the party there, and I’ve got nothing accomplished. My hubby is making brownies for me to take because I forgot until approximately 9 p.m. tonight that we were supposed to take a treat to share in addition to the valentine’s and the box to put the valentine’s in. We got a flat tire tonight on the way to my parent’s house for dinner which resulted in us not getting home til about 8:30, which resulted in me having to postpone my grocery trip. So I’ll be running to the local McDonald’s tomorrow to get lunch for us to eat at co-op. ‘Cause Lord knows we don’t have anything in the house I can pack for us!

I need to get back to my routine, back to making my lists and actually crossing things OFF of them, back to going to bed at a decent hour, back to sweeping the living room floor once in a while.

How do I find my way back? What do you do to get back in the groove after a vacation or big event? I need someone to TELL ME WHAT TO DO! Boss me around, it’s ok, I like it!

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Twove in a Twelevator – the Elevator 13 Story

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After the most fun dinner EVAH at BlissDom09 Saturday night, our big happy fun group headed back to the Hotel Preston. I was about to get on the elevator when someone (I’m not sayin’ this whole thing is her fault, I am just sayin’…) asked me something in the lobby and I stepped back quickly from the doors – unfortunately causing a couple of other people (including Cortney) to miss the elevator.

I quickly finished my conversation and a bunch of us who had been at the most fun dinner EVAH caught the next elevator, which already had a few people coming up from the lower level. All in all, 13 of shiny, happy bloggers packed in the elevator.

And when it jerked really hard and stopped two seconds later, all 13 of us shiny, freaked-out bloggers screamed in unison!

We were stopped just above the first floor, so we hadn’t gone far, but in that two seconds it got HOT in there, and I totally started to freak out. You see, I’d been stuck in a small elevator with about 11 people when I was 17, and I’ve been terrified of a repeat elevator incident ever since. It made me into the claustrophobic I am today.

So anyways, as soon as that elevator stopped I was on the road to panicville. But I managed to stave off my initial panic for about a minute. UNTIL Heather pushed the call button to call the front desk and alert them that there were 13 of us trapped in their elevator AND NO ONE ANSWERED!!!!!!!!

That’s right, no one picked up. Then I REALLY started to freak. I knew we weren’t high enough above the ground to be in any grave danger, but when no one answered the front desk phone, and since it was about 90 bazillion degrees in there, I was fairly certain we were going to suffocate.

That’s when all those brilliant social media mavens in the elevator starting twittering from their cell phones to let people know we were trapped. Thank the Lord for the Twitter community! They were able to get word to the front desk that we were trapped. The tweeps even started a hashtag for us – #elevator! Soon the elevator phone rang and the front desk told us help was on the way. I calmed down for a little bit. I took some pictures, even. I was really trying to be brave.

pretending to be brave w/ the Queen of Shake Shake

Putting on a Brave Face with the Queen of Shake Shake

But after a few minutes went by with NO updates from the front desk, or any reassurance whatsoever, I couldn’t fight the panic anymore. I felt like I couldn’t breathe! I carefully slid down to the floor. I was so ashamed. I didn’t want to be the one who LOST IT.

But within a few seconds, I wasn’t the only one on the floor. My friend Dawn had hunkered down beside me. She started talking to me to try and distract me. She had me show her all the pictures on my digital camera – there were a couple hundred at least – and had me explain each one to her. She was amazing. Amazing!! I truly cannot explain to you how grateful I am to her. If she hadn’t been there, I am sure I would have been hyperventilating uncontrollably and might’ve even passed out. But Dawn really kept me as calm as possible. She was my angel! Therefore, I have christened her the Elevator Angel!

angeldawn copy

While Dawn and I were on the floor, impatience grew in the elevator. We were very nervous about the lack of updates. Someone called the front desk, and the girl there just told us they’d called the repair man. The repair man? How about the freaking fire department?? We had two panickers (Heather was also having a hard time, however, I heard her say that my panic was helping her because feeling sorry for me was a distraction for her. Heh. Happy to help!) and a pregnant woman in the elevator and we have to wait in the stifling hot elevator while the repair man fights Saturday Night Nashville traffic?? What the CRAP!!??

Finally, finally, FINALLY they told us he was there. Twitterers were telling those with their phones also, that help had arrived. We started feeling bumps and hearing noises and FINALLY those doors flew open and with a rush of cool air the Elevator Thirteen FLEW OUT of there! We were in that elevator for almost FORTY-FIVE MINUTES!!!

There were cheers from our bloggy friends who had gathered to welcome us out of the elevator. But guess who WASN’T there to greet us? A single staff person from the Hotel Preston. Not ONE concerned manager or even concerned PEON employed there greeted us to make sure that their GUESTS were ok. As I mentioned before, if Dawn hadn’t helped me through my panic, I probably would’ve needed medical attention. But apparently, the Hotel Preston staff didn’t give a crap about that, despite the fact that they had been informed by us that we had a prego in the elevator and two panic attacks going on.

Needless to say, I am not impressed with the “customer service” we got that night.

I was thrilled to be out of the elevator, and really embarrassed at my panic performance. I didn’t even cry until I got off the elevator, but as soon as we were out I let it flow. Andrea was there to greet us, and she walked up the nine flights of stairs with Cortney and me, who were not about to get back on the elevator. It was a killer to walk up those stairs but it was totally worth it!

So, what’s the moral of the story? Set your cell phone up for Twitter if you haven’t already, read the max. occupancy sign (oops…7…but we were NOT over the weight limit!) before you get on the elevator, and if you work at a hotel, give a crap about your guests, PARTICULARLY when they are bloggers, or you just might end up with some BAD PRESS on the INTERNETZ. Oh yeah, and if you ever meet this girl angeldawn copy make friends with her! She’ll probably save your life one day!
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And now for the BlissDom09 #elevator 13 blogroll:

Jennifer, PlayGroups Are No Place for Children
Victoria, Vdog + Little Man
Heather – The Spohrs Are Multiplying
* Heather’s Post
Heather – The Queen of Shake Shake
* Heather’s Post
Emily – DesignHer Momma
* Emily’s Post
Amy – Amy in Ohio
Hebba – JeepGirl17
* Hebba’s post
Shannan – Mommy Bits
* Shannan’s post
Ali (our prego!)- Blessed Treehouse
Sandy – Organize with Sandy
* Sandy’s Post WITH VIDEO!!
Me- of course!
Dawn – Kaiser Alex
* Dawn’s Post
Cortney – Once A Month Mom
(Cortney and I have known each other since 5th grade. If you had been at the MOST FUN DINNER EVER you would have heard that this is not the *first* landmark moment we have shared in our lives. Snicker snicker!)

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You Gotta Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em


Photo by Hop-Frog

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted about how I’m feeling. (Quick recap: birth control pills made me crazy and depressed.) The answer is complicated. I stopped taking the first pill I was on and after a few days I started to feel somewhat like my old self. I even taught a coupon class one night and it was really fun. I started taking a new pill – the one I was on five plus years ago before I had Joshua. For a few days I felt ok, mostly back to normal, but after about a week, I started feeling sick again. The nausea and headaches started, and along came lack of appetite and being unable to eat certain things. It really did feel like I was about eight or nine weeks pregnant! (I am not, I promise you.) Then Wednesday in the late afternoon, it started happening again. The depression covered me like a blanket made of steel. I couldn’t get out from under it, no matter how hard I tried to push it aside. I sobbed while I made my kids peanut butter sandwiches for dinner, and after my husband got home, went up to our bedroom to be alone.

And there alone in my bed I made a decision. I just cannot take the pill anymore. I can’t even think about going back to that dark place I was in. Maybe I can try again in a few months, but right now I need to be able to get back to me. I will just deal with my crazy hormones without adding any in to make them crazier. I just want to feel normal again, and not be afraid of what tomorrow is going to hold because of some medication I am taking. Because after how bad I felt Wednesday night, I just can’t do that to myself anymore. It’s not worth it.

So, there ya go. I give. I am crying “uncle”. I just hope I can put myself back right. It may require me going to CVS and buying six 12-packs of Mountain Dew, but I’m prepared to make the sacrifice if I have to.

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