My Big Fat Appendix-Free Christmas

Oh holy man. Never in a million years would I have guessed the holidays would turn out like this.
So, Tuesday night, Ross and I meet my parents and my grandma at Gator's Dockside for dinner. I sure do love potato skins, let me tell you. So after I got home and my belly started hurting, I figured it was just the greasiness of the food I ate.
Then, when it was 2:00 a.m. and my belly was still hurting, I decided I was never going to Gator's Dockside again because they were clearly trying to kill me with potatoes.
THEN, when I was still awake at 7:00 a.m. because of the pain, and I hadn't even been to the bathroom or anything, and I realized it was only the right side of my stomach that hurt, I guess I started to get a little panicky. Went and got Doctor Mom. Went on Web M.D. Went to the ER and found out my appendix was about to burst.
I'd really really hoped I was overreacting. In the emergency room I got a bed right away, it was the day of Christmas Eve and people were choosing not to be sick so at least I wasn't waiting around in pain.
The nurse, of course, was the kind of idiot nurse who obviously hated sick people and should have chosen a different job and made me even more stressed out. After lots of her and a doctor prodding and me crying, they got me on an IV and took me to a room where I got a CT scan. And within 3 hours I was being prepped for surgery.
The last thing I remember saying is, "Oh, is that the anesthesia?"
Then I woke up calling out "ROSS" and trying to breathe. The surgery was Laproscopic so it was 3 small holes: under my bellybutton, on the right side of my tummy, and on my waistline. Also though, they inflated my belly with gas, so I now look like a malnutrition victim or maybe 4 months pregnant. The worst part of waking up was not being able to talk; the anesthesia tube they'd put down my throat had left me with no voice and bloody spit. Awful.
After a night full of crying and Dilaudid-induced sleep that lasted for 20 minutes at a time, they checked me out this morning (after telling me I needed to "at least try to fart to move that air around") and let me go home around 11:00 am. And I got lots of presents and hugs and jokes, even though it hurts like heck to laugh.
I'm so glad I got to be with family today and not stuck in a room with a mechanical bed. It really could have turned out worse.
Oh, AND I got this amazing book, "Lost in the Supermarket: An Indie Rock Cookbook". It's a bunch of recipes written by bands I love, and I'm psyched about gettin' my food on with the boys, once I can walk without wincing. Merry Christmas.

It's Blog-tastic! No, it's not.

Wednesday night was about as ridiculous as possible.

Even though the night got out of control after about 3 hours, I still really cherish the time I spend with my friends when they come home and everyone is together and it feels like I'm 16. I don't want to know where I would be in life without that group of kids.
I don't even know how I ever dated Justin for 3 years. Especially watching him attack one of my best friends through a car window and causing that amount of trouble just for the sake of revenge or violence or what the heck ever. Extra lame and disrespectful.
Weird how my positivity dwindles after 24 hours. Thank you, hormones.
So. Neat-o. I'm alone in the apartment with PMS super powers waiting for Ross to be done moving his friend into a house.
I really do think Ross is the perfect boy. Crossing my fingers I don't ruin this relationship by Ally-ing out on him one of these days.

Alone in Daytona Beach

Hanging out in the apartment alone for 5 hours is turning out to be less fun than I expected.
Today has not been a heck of a day, in fact it's been easy, and quiet, and involved peanut butter cookies. It's nice to finally have 12 hours of complication-free time.
Someone recently asked me if I had made a New Year's resolution, and did I keep up with it. The answer is both yes and no.
On January 1st, I promised myself I would make better decisions. And by getting away from the life I previously led, well, 10 points for stickin' to the plan. 5 months without the things I once relied on is a pretty huge accomplishment.
Still though, I've made some big dumb mistakes. Broken the unspoken rule between friends, broke someone's heart and didn't care as much as I should have, spent way too much money on material things.
But I can honestly say, I'm happy. I have a great family that I finally appreciate, a wonderful boyfriend who cares about me, and amazing friends who forgive me for whatever mistakes I make.
I know that I haven't felt this stable since New Haven. And New Haven was the best thing I've ever done in my life.
It's so nice to feel this good.