I'm back! My cold took a turn for the worse and the last few days have been miserable. It went exactly how I thought; have my mom pick me up, pay a co-pay (it absolutely kills me to do this!), wait around forever for a strep test just to be told I only have a cold and drink plenty of fluids and rest. Sounds easy except I am too miserable to sleep. Ironically, the dogs aren't keeping us awake any more because while trying to mitigate Joey's seizures he is on more medication that makes him super sleepy. So, it's just me keeping me up!
We spent the remainder of Valentine's Day at home. Chris baked a heart-shaped pizza and we spent the evening engrossed in The Bachelor and Harry's Law. I highly recommend the latter, however stay away from being hooked on The Bachelor if you can help it! It's too late for me, but save yourself! At least Chris was here this year.
Last Valentine's was the worst we have ever had in eleven years or something. It's not so much just Valentine's Day that was so horrible as it was the entire month of February. Early in the month Chris learned he would be traveling to New York for work. We were under the assumption that his trip would take about three days. These three days turned into three weeks! We had no idea. To make matters worse, while he was there we still had no idea how many more days he would need to stay. At first I thought, "I can do this. I am capable of taking care of myself, two little chihuahuas, our Golden Retriever, and a sassy cat by myself for awhile." Then the heater went out the first night. It was the beginning of February and freezing. It happened late and I called Chris even though I knew he was unable to help me thousands of miles away. He was just getting ready to call me and tell me he had made it to his hotel and of the nice welcoming gift in his night stand. There was actually a little collection of marijuana in his room. You see, the town Chris was staying in was pretty small so there was one option in hotels. Chris couldn't believe it and let me go so he could tell the front desk of his discovery. I called my dad. While he was on his way over to see if it was a simple fix, my mind oscillated between ideas of the owners of this merchandise coming back to Chris' room and there being a shoot out and police and sirens and ideas of trying to pile on my little dogs' sweaters and seeing my breath all night long while watching the thermometer in my room drop. Chris called back and said his situation was taken care of and he proceeded to try and google what my problem could be. My dad arrived and assessed the situation, determining that I would need to call someone. I was so torn between paying out the wazoo for the convenience of having heat that night or toughing it out until the morning. I hate to pay a premium for the same service just because of the timing! Another annoyance is that these companies' rates vary so much that I had to set out on a research project to see who would be the best deal. I finally decided to set up a first-thing-in-the-morning appointment and go to bed refusing to let these companies win by taking advantage of my late-night situation, but I sure felt like the loser when I woke up to a 50 degree temperature in my house and shivering dogs!
The nice service man arrived early. I escorted him downstairs to take a look. As soon as he started working I hit my head and said, "The sensor just needed to be sanded, didn't it?" He was taken aback and said, "What did you need me for?" See, that is the only thing Chris came up with the evening before with all of his googling. Not that I knew where to find the sensor or had any sand paper anyway. So, that little ordeal was over.
One reason I was particularly disappointed was because we had just launched our 90 days of P90X. We were going to do it together. Tony Horton shows no mercy and we were on a schedule of working out 6 days a week for about an hour to an hour and a half a day. So, while Chris had a more difficult time of it while working 12-hour days and lacking the dvds and equipment, I woke up at 4:45 in the morning and got mine out of the way. Chris worked long hours, the weather was bad and places to eat were quite a ways away, but he attempted to keep up his work out regimen! All of this came to a crashing halt and would put him out of commission for the remainder of the 90 days when he was using a hotel weight that was too heavy for his weighted arm circles. He ended up with bursitis of his elbow and it took until May or so to heal! So, needless to say, I finished the program by myself even after he returned home and then started over with him!
Chris ended up missing Valentine's Day, my parents' anniversary and my dad's birthday. We also learned that even though Chris was at K-State for a few years while I stayed at WSU when we were dating, our long-distance communication isn't the best. He was frustrated up there and I was frustrated and lonely here. I think there were several other small incidents that I have blocked out because it seemed like things just kept happening. I did send Chris a package with a Valentine's Day card, snacks, and more clothes as it became apparent his stay would be long. He still needed to get his clothes dry cleaned and drove past the place that was 30 miles away and went to the one that was 60 miles away. One of the worst things that happened while Chris was gone happened a few days before Chris was able to come home. My face had a horrible reaction to a new face cream! My face was puffy, red, on fire, dry, and my eyes were almost swollen shut. I then had to go to the doctor pronto and pay the aforementioned co-pay to get a shot. It still took a few days to get back to normal. I wanted to hide out during this time, but did my best to cover it up and went on to work and everything. At least, Chris didn't see me like this!
One weekend, they told Chris he could come home and get more clothes and re-group then they changed their minds and he had to stay with nothing to do all weekend. Fortunately, Chris became friends with one of the guys who worked at the company Chris was visiting, so they were able to hang out a little. Then, when Chris was finally able to come home, we didn't know it until a day or so before he did. We were so glad to be together and Chris relented a little on the idea that he loves adventure, change, and spontaneity and maybe the same things and a normal routine aren't all that bad. So, here's to next Valentine's Day! (But the bar isn't set too high)
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