So renovations are coming along nicely. The new plumbing in the bathroom is done and we’re very excited. Anytime “new” and “plumbing” are in the same sentence, its usually bad thing, but this is good. Anyway, the only thing that’s odd is that they somehow cut a huge hole in the bottom of the bathroom/ceiling of the basement. Keep in mind we LIVE in the basement right now. This hole is right above where I sit when I watch tv:

Here’s what it looks like from said position:

Last night we had a little fun teasing the dogs that this was going to be their new bedroom. They were not so happy about being dangled above this:

All is going well! They may take a little break next week for the 4th, so I don’t plan to have much to update you on next week. Guess you’ll have to find something else to waste your time on!

I was coming back from picking up my dry cleaning and parked in the first level of the parking garage as usual. It is P1 in my building, just underneath the lobby. I had also ordered a rolled sandwich for lunch and needed to go to the Lobby level to get it. I decided to be lazy and take the elevator the one flight up (instead of taking the stairs), but when the door opened, I saw 4 ladies inside who were going to my normal floor, 3.  So, instead of hitting the L button and making the elevator stop on the way up to 3, I just rode it on up and then after they got off, I rode it back down to L.

So, pretty much, I’m okay with knowing I’m being lazy. But I’m not okay with other people knowing it.

Yesterday I gave blood for the first time in a while and I’m glad I did. I used to give as often as I could, about every 56 days, 1) because after the first time, it wasn’t too scary and 2) I realized it was kind of a special thing to be able to do. Not everyone can handle the needle, or the blood draw, or any of it, and many people just aren’t able to donate, so I thought, why not?

So, today, I thought I’d give a detailed description of the process, for anyone who has considered giving blood, but has yet to do it. Maybe this will give you some peace of mind and the confidence to try it. This pertains to donating whole blood.

If you work at a company that does Red Cross blood drives, where they actually come to your office, that’s a good way to start. That was actually how my first donation happened, through a blood drive at Vanderbilt. Since then, I’ve donated at my local Red Cross. To find yours, and even sign up for an appointment online, go to www.givelife.org. Its the official Red Cross blood donation website and has tons of information about giving blood and how to sign up. You can also call 1-800-Give-Life to reach the Red Cross donation center near you.

On the day you plan to donate, make sure to eat all your meals, preferably balanced ones, and if you can try to eat some leafy greens the day before. My usual problem is a low iron count and that has stopped me from donating a few times. Its a good idea to drink plenty of water too, but not required to donate.

When you arrive at the donation location, you will have to read through a booklet of information about who can donate and who cannot. There is a list of medications that if you are currently taking or have ever taken, you must notify the staff. That doesn’t necessarily mean you cannot donate, but usually if you are on any antibiotics or just got any vaccines, you won’t be able to donate. There are many things that can keep you from being able to donate, like getting a tattoo or piercing in the past 12 months, being on certain medications, having certain kinds of sex (there are a lot of questions about that) and traveling to or living in foriegn countries. If you think something might pertain to you and you want to know before you go to donate, just call that 800 number and they can tell you if you’ll be eligible.

After you read through the booklet, you’ll sign in and wait to be called back by one of the “blood techs” (I’m sure that’s not what they’re called, but that’s what I call them). When you are called back, you will be asked to verify who you are by presenting ID and verifying address and phone number information (if its your first time, they will have to collect this information). They will ask your weight (you must be over a certain weight to donate) and then perform a few tests.

The first is the finger prick to check your iron level. In my opinion, this hurts more than the actual blood draw. They use a little disposable needle that pricks one of your finger tips, then they squeeze a small amount of blood into a little tube that then goes into a machine that spins the tube to separate the parts of the blood. Then they measure it to make sure you have enough iron. They will also take your temperature, pulse and blood pressure. You’ll also go through an online questionnaire to answer questions about your history, mostly questions that were addressed in the booklet you read before donating. This is where you will tell them if you’ve travelled outside of the US or if you take or did take any of the medications on the list. I took Accutane like 10+ years ago, but I still need to tell them. It doesn’t affect my ability to donate though.

When all that is done and you “pass” all the requirements, they will take you out into the main donation area and sit ya down to donate. You can choose which arm you want to donate with, so if they sit you on the wrong side, just tell them and they can switch the chair around.

They will then verify your identity again and have you read off some numbers from your collection bags. You’ll be asked if you are allergic to iodine or betadine, because they use both to cleanse the area. I’m not sure what happens if you are allergic to one of those…I’ve never asked. They will place a blood pressure cuff on your arm to help with the blood flow and prepare the donation bags and tubes on your arm. After cleansing the area, they will get the needle ready and they will say “You’re going to feel a stick and a sting” (cause a little of the betadine/iodine WILL go in with the needle, and it WILL sting a little bit at first). This is when you should LOOK AWAY if you are at all squeemish about needles. I do not watch them put it in and I wait till they put a little gauze bandage over the needle before I look back. They will give you something to squeeze off and on during the process to keep the blood flowing and you should squeeze it every 5-10 seconds.

Unless you have tricky veins, you should be all good to go for the rest of the donation process. Sometimes it is hard to find the vein and some people have a harder time getting it started. You probably know if you are one of those people and whether or not you can tolerate the process. Basically, if you can see your vein in the crook of your elbow (and feel it), you’re probably in good shape. I tried to take a picture of my arm to show how you can see my vein, but it didn’t come out very well.

Anyway, the donation process can take anywhere from 8-20 minutes, although I’d say most people finish in under 15 minutes. Mine goes a little slower when my body is cold (like in the winter months). Once your pint is collected, the machine will beep and they will tell you to stop squeezing your hand. They still need to collect some more blood in a few vials in order to test your blood to make sure everything is kosher before it can be transfused to someone else. After they do that, they will remove the needle (which feels weird but doesn’t hurt) and ask you to keep pressure on the spot while raising your arm straight up in the air. Then they will clean off the iodine/betadine and fix you up with a gauze and stretchy bandage thing that’s pretty comfortable. Much better than the tape they used a long time ago.

After you have made sure you feel okay, you’ll make your way to the lobby and partake in some sugary goodness. I prefer the oatmeal cream sandwiches and a diet coke (yes, I realize the “diet” kinda defeats the purpose, but I’m eating an oatmeal cream sandwich, for goodness sake). Then you’re all set!

Depending on how busy they are, the entire process could take anywhere from 30-50 minutes, so make sure you don’t need to rush off somewhere right away. Also, you should not do any strenuous activity that day, which includes intense exercise, lifting heavy objects, sex (okay, they don’t say that, but its strenuous, right?), etc. You should also drink lots of water and don’t skip any meals. Basically, be smart about it. You just gave away a pint of blood and your body needs time to adjust.

Some people experience bruising, but I just get a little red spot on my arm for a few days. For example, this from my donation yesterday:

Not bad. And its not sore anymore either. Dexter stepped on it last night and, I won’t lie, that DID hurt.

Anyway, the process isn’t really that bad, so if you are able and willing, go give it a try. Its pretty easy to do and there’s nothing like donating a part of yourself that you know will help save someone else’s life! And you can do it every 8 weeks. Pretty awesome!

Today the plumbing is being moved around in the bathroom and they are prepping the walls for insulation. Thats good cause I’m really scared to see our electric bill for the past month.

 Sounds sexy, but its not.

Our AC is out. Kaput. Something is clogged somewhere in some part of the system and we’ll likely have to shell out a hefty sum to get it back up and running. They were going to come out yesterday to fix it but the rain put a kink in that plan.

AC gods, please, please come today and fix our system with minimal fuss. We miss our AC.

EDITED: I hate it when I think of a better title after publishing. I’m thinking “Wet Dreamers” may have been more clever. Oh well.

My chiropractor gave me this document, saying “This is totally you, by the way”. I guess he does know me pretty well. Its a table of a bunch of fruits and vegetables and the affects they have on your body/immune system. Most of them are good, although peanuts do aggrevate diverticulitis. Anyway, its kinda interesting if you’re into that type of thing. Check it out.

So Saturday afternoon, along with thousands of other Nashvillians and, I’m assuming, many out-of-towners, Jason and I went downtown to see the Red Bull Flugtag. Out of all the events, Saturday nights, and other times I’ve been downtown, this had to be the busiest I’ve ever seen it. We spent 45 minutes in the parking garage trying to find a space and finally found one as we were 5 cars away from leaving the garage. It was a nightmare, but we finally made it.

Unlike this guy, we had to wade our way through the humongous, hot crowd, but finally found the stairs that lead down the river and ended up hanging out on the “tarmac” where the floats/flying contraptions were lined up to take flight. From there we had a pretty nice view of the festivities and got a great preview of the contestants before they headed up the ramp.

One exciting thing is that we did get to see the world-record breaker, even though it was pretty much just a glider that sat on top of the actual themed piece and took flight as the other piece hit the water. It seems like there should be some rule about the pilot landing in a different spot than the actual float. Oh well.

The storm started to roll in around 2:45, so we left early, with about 4 or 5 floats left, so we didn’t get to see all of them. It was fun though. Once we got through the crowd, it was much more enjoyable. It was definitely the first event I’ve been to where Red Bull and Water are sold for the same price.

*giggle* So, I’m a little proud of myself for this title. Great alliteration, huh?

Anyway, we haven’t posted any pictures in the past few days because the “construction” has sort of come to a stand-still as far as the visual aspect goes. Now they are working on plumbing and electrical, so its hard to see anything being done, even if it is. The electrician showed up at 7am this morning, a little earlier than expected, and I was still in my pajamas. He was really nice and talked us through his vision for the kitchen and bath. I think we’ll have options as we go on, but at least he can lay down the basic wiring. He said they may finish it all today! That’s crazy cause electrical was one of the highest parts of the budget. Do they really make that much in one day???

Yesterday while volunteering I saw a woman with a shirt on that said “Cancer Survivor” and my recent experience with my aunt sent me into a whole line of morbid thinking. This woman was small, frail, and was walking out of the cancer clinic. So the question that came to my mind was “How does she know she’s a cancer survivor?”. I mean, the only way to really know you are a cancer “survivor” is when you die of something else, right?  I know, this sounds awful. But take the example of my aunt. She found out she had cancer 3 years ago. They went in and got most of it, then did radiation and chemo for the rest of it. She was declared cancer free and went into remission. At that point, I believe she was considered a “cancer survivor”. But then the cancer came back and now she’s passed away. From the effects of the cancer.

I can’t think of how to properly end this post, so I’m just going to leave it at that and see if ya’ll have comments.

Its the small things that seem to make my day lately. I love walking into the bathroom at work and seeing this:

Because it means the toilet was just cleaned and I’m the first to use it.