I Dropped the Ball on This One

So, this past Wednesday/Thursday at Ouachita, Red Cross came to campus for a blood drive.  As I tried to think of an excuse to get out of giving blood, I kept thinking that maybe this time I shouldn't look for an excuse.  After a good pep talk from my boss and from several students (who probably thought I was such a baby), I decided that I would finally give blood for the first time.

Yes, this would be the first time that I would give blood, but it was not my first attempt.  I had tried to give blood 4 times before this:

1) Taking an antibiotic - NO BLOOD FOR YOU
2) Out of the country too close to blood time - NO BLOOD FOR YOU
3) Anemic (not enough iron) - NO BLOOD FOR YOU
4) Anemic (again) - NO BLOOD FOR YOU

So this time, after I secured a blood buddy (a veteran donor too) who would go with me, I finally mustered up the courage to sign my name on the "give blood" list (I don't think that's what they call it though).  I got my "I made a difference sticker" and read the literature on giving blood.  Now, this sticker they gave me, is bright green, not red like my blood buddy's.  Green means first timer...so it's like a warning to all the Red Cross people..."beware, she's new at this...she'll probably freak out."

I walk into the room, and there's no wait, so I head straight to the finger-pricking chair.  Here they ask me all sorts of questions about my sexual history, and if I had ever had sexual relations with a prostitute in Africa since the year 1970.  Now I know why they don't like to read these out loud.  Finger prick...check...anemic...nope...here we go!

I get settled in my chair, after a not so reassuring vein check on both my arms, and after finally finding one that will work, we get to work.  As nervous as I was, once they got the needle in, I felt great!  I couldn't believe I had made such a big deal about giving blood.  So I'm rolling around the stress ball they gave me (my only instructions), and I'm chatting it up with my blood buddy.  We even pause to take a picture together!  We'll call this the "before picture" (a little blurry)...I should warn you, we didn't get an after picture.

I started to feel a bit light headed and dizzy, so I told the lady who was helping me, and the next thing I remember was another Red Cross helper clapping his hands and saying "Erin, we need you to wake up...Erin, you passed out on us!"

Yeah...I passed out!  My blood buddy says that the last thing I said before I passed out was "oh no!"  I finally woke up, sweating bad, so they put an ice pack on my back.  Then, I was so nauseous, so they brought over a bright red BIO-HAZARD bag for me to "get sick" in if I needed to (the girl behind me in the picture has one too...in case you were curious as to what I am talking about).  I will say that the red bag and the green sticker made a lovely holiday combination, but not exactly the kind of attention I wanted while other students were preparing to give blood themselves.  Once I realized that I would get sick, or maybe even pass out again if they didn't get that needle out of me, I had to quit.  I asked if what I had given could still make a difference, and I got a reassuring "you know...we'll send it in a see what they can do with it!" BOO!  All that for probably nothing!

Oh yeah, you want to know the first thing I thought when I came to?  "The ball...where is it, I must have dropped it!"  That's right, I dropped the ball...literally and physically.  Oh well, maybe next time...and then, my sticker and BIO-HAZARD bag will match!

His and Hers

One really great thing about marriage is sharing.  You know..."what's mine is sometimes yours!"  And while sharing everything is both grown up and well, a necessary part of marriage...I'm glad there are still His and Her things around our home. 

His and Hers Coffee Cups:

Tyler and I have nailed down our evening/getting ready for bed ritual.  We make sure our porch lights are off; turn the air to about 63 degrees (so glad we don't have to pay for utilities!); lay out clothes for the next day; set the alarm; get a new glass of water for the bedside table; and get the coffee ready for the morning.  

One thing that is definitely his and hers is our coffee cups.  Lynley, Nikki, and Lindsey got me two of these beautiful coffee cups for my birthday last year, and I LOVE them!  Tyler was a little more hesitant to use them though.  Maybe it's the cute patter, or maybe its that his fingers don't fit in the swirly handle.  Whatever the reason, he decided he needed a more "manly" cup to drink his coffee out of.  So...I got him his very own Andy's mug (now he fits in with the population of men over 60 in Arkadelphia).  Even though we both take our coffee with two packets of Equal and french vanilla Coffee-mate cream, we definitely make sure it's in our own coffee mugs!

His and Her Oatmeal:

I used to not eat oatmeal.  Maybe that was because we only had the Apples and Cinnamon flavor in our house.  Well, while Tyler was out of town for a couple of days, I decided to find out if I really didn't like oatmeal or if it was that particular flavor.  That's right...I bought a variety pack of oatmeal to see if there was any flavor I liked.  So these are the ones I tried:

Apples and Cinnamon (thought I'd give it another shot)

Cinnamon Roll

Regular

And then I found a winner!!!

MAPLE AND BROWN SUGAR!!!  A plus to this was that I accidentally bought the sugar free version and LOVED it! So, on the list of foods that I didn't like, but have learned to like: eggs (check), oatmeal (check), hot!hot!hot! tea (check)...next on the list: honey!

His and Her Cars:

Tyler and I were very fortunate to be given our cars when we got married.  Both our parents signed over the title to us, and we got to start our marriage with 0 car payments!  I guess they were both okay with signing over the titles, because our poor cars aren't worth much.  In fact, I don't even know if our cars alone could get us anything.  I have devised a plan, though, to fix this problem.  Together, my Explorer and his Corolla would make the perfect car for us!  All we would need to do is combine the parts of each car:

His Corolla                                             Her Explorer

    Air Conditioning                                           CD Player         

Ability for the windows to roll down                          Sun Roof                 

Transmission                                              Hubcaps   

Gas Mileage                                              Windshield  

    Odometer                                              Keyless Entry   

I guess we could call it either the "Corollorer" or the "Explorolla."  Either way, it would be our super car!  Until we figure out how to do all of those things, we'll just have to save for that 4Runner great used car that will some day be ours (and maybe have all the things on our super car list)!

His and Her Make-Up Bag/Shaving Kit:

Though I probably wouldn't mind sharing my make-up bag with Tyler, he is the one who appreciates these his and her things most.  He thinks my make-up bag is a disaster, and doesn't know a) what half of the things in there are, and b) how to find half of the things you need in there.  He uses his bag mostly for traveling.  He carries his toothbrush, deoderant, contact solution, etc. in his bag.  I use mine on an everyday basis!  A note for anyone who might make the same mistake that I did: DO NOT call his shaving kit a make-up bag (even on accident).  He is a boy and does not wear make-up and he made that very clear to me when I slipped up one day and asked if he packed his make-up bag for the trip...YIKES BIKES!!!  That probably won't happen again Tyler, don't worry!

His and Her Toothbrush:

One of the things I learned about Tyler when we got married, was that he was very set in his ways before marriage, and there were just some things that I would never change about him.  One of those things: how he applies toothpaste.  I like to apply toothpaste to the entire brush by dragging the toothpaste from the bottom of the bristles to the top.

Tyler is different because he likes to just squeeze a big blob of the toothpaste right smack in the middle of the brush.  He doesn't spread it around, he just applies a big blob.  Even though he is firm in his ways, he never has tried to convince me that he was right or I was wrong.  If we happen to be brushing our teeth at the same time, he will (or I will) kindly apply my toothpaste across the entire toothbrush bristles, and then apply his in that, oh so familiar now, glob. 

His and Her Oven Mitts:

Enough said!

His and Her Pillow Set Up:

As I mentioned before, we have a very detailed bedtime ritual.  Sometimes this ritual includes some reading time.  Whenever we read before bed, we both prefer our pillows a certain way.  Tyler likes the more firm/bigger pillow behind his back, while I like the softer, less bulky pillow for my support.  A side note about the bed/pillow/comforter set up: We have to make sure that the comforter is pulled way over on his side of the bed leaving just the edge of the comforter on my side.  That way, in the morning, it is even again (yes, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a blanket roller...I'll pull the comforter with me when I roll over in the night). 

His and Her Books:

I've been in a bit of a reading funk lately, but the other day, Tyler and I made a trip to Hot Springs and bought new books to read!  While I currently enjoy reading a bit more sophisticated books, Tyler is reading Tex by S. E. Hinton.  That poor boy did buy a grown up book when we went to Hot Springs, but he is usually stuck reading books for his eighth grade class.  Read it up Tex...read it up!

So, while sharing things in marriage is such a blessing, it is definitely a neccessary and wonderful thing to have our own His and Her things!  I love you Tyler...but Apples and Cinnamon over Maple and Brown Sugar?  That's just crazy!

Congratulations Mrs. Birdsong

Last weekend, Tyler and I took off from our dorm duties, and headed to (among other stops) Wimberly, TX to see Kassidy and Derek get married!  The weekend was packed with family visits, good meals, and lots of driving.  On Friday afternoon, we made our way to stop #1: Allen, TX. 

We stayed with Tyler's parents on Friday night and got to treat his mom to birthday dinner at Italian Villa...that place is missed for sure!  After a wonderful breakfast of homemade blueberry pancakes, we packed up again and made our way to stop #2: Waco, TX. 

In Waco, we met up with my parents and Kayla for lunch.  Even though we didn't see each other for a very long period of time, it was still good to catch up and...let's get real...have a free meal!  After lunch, it was a quick wardrobe change and then off to stop #3: Wimberly, TX.

The reason for the trip: Kassidy and Derek's wedding.  It was beautiful.  Even though there was a last minute change of venue (inside instead of outside) you would have never even guessed because everything was perfect.  Their ceremony and reception were held at the Red Corral Ranch. It was out in the country, which made for the perfect country wedding.  Here is a picture of Tyler and I at the reception...gorgeous!

BFF Lindsey and I...before we got crunk on the dancefloor!

The happy couple's first dance...and my attempt at getting a picture of the dress:

Attempt #2:

Outside the barn looking into the reception!

Everything about the wedding was intimate and unique, from the music, to the room, to the vows, and even to the "grooms cake pudding bar."  It was so personal, and I'm so glad that we got to celebrate with them.  Here is the beautiful bride!

Married couples!

Thank you Kassidy and Derek for inviting us to share this day with you.  I can't wait to catch up and hear how married life is treating you.  Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Birdsong!

*Also, thank you Zac and Kathy for room and board on Friday night; thank you Carpenters for lunch on Saturday; thank you Kevin and Roycee Kerr for dinner on Saturday; and thank you sister Kayla for room and board on Saturday night!