What doesn't kill you...

What doesn't kill you could still make you very red, itchy, nauseous and put you in the ER.

So after work i had to rush to Old Town Alexandria--Taylor and Ashley might remember it as that place we got ice cream the last day they were here. Aaron's parents are in town and wanted to take us out to dinner at this nice restaurant, which always nice.

We were a little late, and when we got there Aaron and his family had already ordered an appetizer. I was going to take a bite, but Aaron's mom let me know there was shrimp in them and so I told her "Oh no thanks, shrimp makes my lips tingle." And then she glared at Aaron and asked "Why are we here then?!" and I assured her I could eat things on the menu, just not shrimp. Some awesome foreshadowing....

All of the food was super good! I had a bit of Zack's crab soup; I had a lot of bread; I ate pecan crusted chicken with crab on top and then had a chocolate hazelnut creme brulee (so many things I like!) Then we decided we'd walk the mile back to the metro to walk off dessert. That was fine. Then, since I was short on my step count, I paced around the metro for a while. I noticed my armpits were like crazy itchy. But, I figured that it was just because I'd been out of the house for like 14 hours at this point and I just needed to take a shower and change.

What I imagine I looked like

I went to sit with Zack and Aaron and Zack tried to wipe what he thought was a bead of sweat off my face. Nope. Not a bead of sweat. It was a hive. My warning hive was already HUGE and my whole neck and chest were already covered in hives. But, the train was coming and there's a Rite Aid right by the metro so we figured that was the fastest means to get relief. I wasn't super worried at this point, but got kind of nervous when the train just stopped moving in between stops--I knew it was gonna get worse before it got better.

We went to Rite Aid to get Benadryl, and Aaron knew exactly the right aisle and type I needed, which was super helpful. And I popped two pills while in line and we started to walk home. Benadryl is some pretty good stuff! In the 10 minutes it took to walk home, I was already feeling better and my hives were leaving! My plan was to lay down and just chill and watch some Dexter while I recovered. BUT, I was super itchy and literally could not stop scratching myself, so I decided to take a bath.

I don't know if it was because of the bath, or that the timing just lined up, but I started to feel really sick. Then I threw up all of my dinner. It was super gross. And Zack seems to have spidey senses about when I'm at my worst and came into the bathroom. So then I tried to rinse off, but couldn't really stand and was super miserable. So then Zack came in and saw me hunched over in the shower unable to stand and called Aaron's (she used to be a peds nurse) and asked if they thought it was time to go to the hospital. She said yes, definitely.

So then I had to get clothes back on, try not to puke, walk to the car, and go to the GW Emergency room. I had to remind myself that it was important not to faint. And I'm super glad I didn't, because Aaron and Zack seemed really nervous already. Luckily it's really close to us--like 10 minutes driving. and it was nice to have Aaron to navigate and walk me into the ER while Zack parked the car. Also I had Zack call my mom and let her know my allergy is for real. She had been joking earlier in the night that all I needed was a shower, some water and rest. Typical my mom--she's pretty sure most things will fix themselves. Usually I am too, but this felt different! I'll never understand how people in super rural areas can get by living 30 minutes from anything, let alone a hospital.

The coolest Friday night hang out

It was also super lucky that they saw me very quickly. I mean I still got to see the homeless man try to scam the hospital out of pain killers--he refused to give his id, and just wanted the intake people to give him drugs for his back. I also got to see a very well dressed French lady declare she was having a heart attack, lay down in several places on the waiting room floor and yell at the intake people that even though her vitals were all fine, she was most definitely dying. It was an adventure.

When they took us back the nurse told me he thought I was right on the cusp of needing an iv or taking some medicine orally, which seemed like a good sign. They also said they weren't sure how much of the Benadryl was actually absorbed because I threw up so soon after taking it. In the end, they decided I needed an iv. My first one! The nurse apologized to me after he put it in and said he was kinda messy doing it, but I don't think it seemed that bad. The nurse was really nice. He got me blankets when I got cold and shaky and explained a lot of stuff to me, which I know they don't have to do when they treat you.

Then Zack and I waited. And waited. They said they'd let us go around 1:30 after my hour of observation was over. Right around 1:30 they came to take my registration information. At 1:45 the doctor came back and explained what he was going to prescribe me and said he'd be right back and I could get going. At 2:00, two gunshot victims came in. At 2:15 a girl that got caught drunk driving and then fled from the cops came in and was making a real big scene about being cold, not speaking English (though she clearly did) and not wanting to be deported back to Brazil.  Also, that's about the time all the way too drunk people show up too. So, I fell way down on the priority list.

I was really sure they'd just forgotten about us. We were in this huge private room with the door closed. I KNEW there were people who needed my room more than me. Especially because at this point all of the redness was gone and I felt a lot better. I wanted to use my call button and ask for water and maybe remind them we were ready to go, but Zack told me I wasn't allowed to.

Eventually at 3:00 my nice nurse came back, gave me the prescriptions and took out my iv. Taking it out hurts so much more than putting it! Then we walked to the car, came home and passed out until 11:00. Then I went to CVS, filled my prescriptions and came home to load up on pills and take a nap. I feel pretty good...but so hungry! Also, my joints feel awful. No one warned me about that! Hopefully Michigan wins and I can count on that to cheer me up!

So now Zack and I are an epi pen couple. Except that he let his expire, so it's really just me. I'm not really looking forward to having to tell all my waiters to extra for real make sure none of my food touches shellfish. But, I don't think I can super handle another reaction like that! 

How To Turn Your Roommate Into Your Best Friend And/Or Henchwoman

Allow us to present you with a hypothetical situation. In this hypothetical situation, you are a typical suburban housewife. You have the two kids, the husband, the mini-van with the little stick figure family in the back window—life is good. Then, gradually, you begin to feel uneasy in your own home. There’s this constant nagging feeling that someone is watching you, even when there’s no one there. There’s a funny smell that you just catch a vague whiff of once in a while. You’re pretty sure that there was more organic, all-natural peanut butter (you’re a health conscious mother, in this scenario) in the jar last night than there is this morning. The final straw is when you think you hear noises coming through the air vents, even though your whole family is in the living room watching Full House together. You call the police. They do a search of your house and discover that a drunk vagrant has set up shop in your attic, and he’s probably been there for months without you noticing. In fact, the police tell you, he’s been living there for so long that he now has a legal right to inhabit your attic, and you’re just going to have to deal with it because he’s not leaving.

New roommate is excited to move out of his boxcar and into your attic!

Surprise! That hobo is exactly like getting a roommate in college. You’re not really sure you want them around, they steal your food, and they probably don’t shower often enough. You certainly didn’t get to pick them. Regardless, you’re now going to have to find some way to get along with one another, because the police told you so.

This is where we come in. We were successful roommates for four years (like, in the same room roommates, so suck on that) and we have lots of helpful tips on how to make things go smoothly. Let’s get started!

Meeting a new roommate can be
as awkward as this picture

1. Make a bad first impression. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it really helps. There are plenty of ways to make a bad first impression on your roommate. When she tries to friend you on Facebook, ignore her friend request for long enough that she starts to sweat a little. Send her emails that make you sound like an idiot—like, maybe you can tell her about that time that you accidentally crossed the border into Canada without even having your drivers’ license on you. Be really crabby on the day you first move into the dorms. It’s all about setting the bar really low going into your initial in-person encounter. That way, it’s all uphill from there! Even if you have annoying habits, she’ll just be thankful that you don’t suck as much as she thought at first. Plus, if you end up being friends, you’ll have lots of fun stories to laugh about and tell people in the future.

2. Ask the tough questions. It's natural to be curious about the person you are about to share a room and a mini-fridge with. All roommates inevitably learn some small facts about each other, e.g. family background, weird eating habits, and favorite music. To have a really successful roommate-ship, though, you have to dig deeper. You can learn a lot by asking, for example, "If you could be any black woman for a day, who would you pick and why?" or "Code Blue?" An average roommate knows your eye color, a good roommate knows your dog's name, but a great roommate knows which hockey player you plan to marry. Questions can lead to equally heated debates on which post-colonial African president was the best or which Bachelor contestant is the craziest. Understanding your roomtart's interests can only bring you closer together (unless you hate his/her interests, then you're probably screwed.)
3. Say what's on your mind. Sometimes, being honest about what you're thinking can be really hard. After all, even if you have a big blow-up confrontation, you still have to live with that person, and then you run the risk of having them pee in your favorite shoes or something. Still, it's good to air things out. If you just silently fume about all of the little things that bother you, they'll just build up until you can't stand each other anymore, and that's no fun. So, if your roommate makes borscht in your carpeted kitchen and then leaves all of the million dishes, just politely ask him/her to do them! If her drunk cousins and his friends are loudly playing beer pong on your porch while you want to sleep, just tell them to shut up! (Let's be real, she's too drunk to really remember how you phrased it in the morning, so this time you don't have to be as polite.) And if she gets all uppity about going to study in North Quad, feel free to put that girl in her place.

Salmonella is for the weak

4. Bake together. I don't mean this in a marijuana related way, although this might also be a bonding experience. Better than any drug is the magic of brownies. There's a special form of communion created when you gather with your roomsicle(s) over a steaming pan of barely cooked desserts with nothing but spoons and the love you share. Some roommates have made the mistake of taking a box of brownie mix and following all of the directions. This is wrong. Once you know how much oil and eggs to add, throw that box away. Actually recycle it, because global climate change is real. Brownies/cakes/cookies not meant to be solid. Healthy roommate relationships are formed over hot, liquid desserts that represent the warm love that flows between two individuals.

Always be sure to look your best
for your events. Also,note that a good hench
woman allows you to ride on her back.

5. Invent Holidays and Events. If you live according to a normal calendar where your birthday only comes once a year and the holidays are few and far between, your life is a travesty. Celebrate half birthdays, quarter birthdays, 5/6 birthdays, the fact that Taylor lives here, June Day (Best Day), host an event called Dinner., have an ugly sweater party, have a toga party at which someone will bite lime and then be upset about it. Celebrations are happy, so many celebrations means you will have a happy household! And if you can somehow con the pre-med frat at your university into thinking that hosting parties at your house is a good idea, then life is all the better. They will bring the alcohol and you can steal a gallon of vodka, which you can later add Skittles to so you can taste the rainbow. (Which is kind of like baking. Look at how our tips correlate with one another!) Anyway, the point is, celebrate everything--including the fact that your roommate is awesome!

6. Have secrets. There is nothing that brings people together more than leaving other people out. Is that mean? Well we never said friendship was nice. To solidify your one-of-a-kind relationship with your roommate(s), it's important to have many inside jokes and perhaps even a secret language so that in a large group, it is clear that your friendship is better than everyone else's. This is a tricky step in the bonding process for several reasons. One, you cannot force a good secret. Work your way up to it in conversation (this goes along with asking questions) until your roommate is eventually spilling their guts to you and you alone. Also, sharing these special moments and memories will make people jealous of you, which is a good thing, but you don't want them to hate you. Good roommates have other friends, too, and these are the people you complain about your roommate to. The secret codes and knowing looks shared between roommates in a group setting must be kept to a minimum. Unless the roommates are in a group of people they don't much care for, in which case you should ignore everyone else and be really weird together, perhaps making drunken snowflakes or dancing by yourselves.

Happiness guaranteed

It is natural to be nervous when you get assigned a roommate for college, find a stranger to live with on Craig's list, or inevitably are forced to cohabitate with the smelly peanut butter thief in your attic. With these simple directions, though, all that awkwardness will quickly transform itself in the cocoon of your small shared space into a beautiful friendship that will last a lifetime, or at least until your youngest child turns 18 and your roommate is no longer bound in service to you as a live in nanny.

You're welcome ♥ Taylor & Christine