The whole tonsil thing was kind of insane, but 3 gallons of ice cream, 6 bottles of Powerade, 1 ER visit, and 2 10-lb bags of ice later, I am almost healed.

Christmas was a lot of fun. We missed our family who couldn't come, but we were super lucky to have everyone at our wedding a couple of months ago, so we look forward to more family gatherings in 2012! We enjoyed our first Christmas Eve at home with our cat, and spent Christmas Day with my parents, brother and sister-in-law, and then Chris's family.

Now we are looking forward to the next week - I am still off work until Jan 3, so I will be spending the week finishing up my recovery and organizing my house, and then we get to spend New Year's Eve with Lis, watching bowl games and eating awesome food! Maybe some of it will be cooked in this sweet new wedding gift :)

tonsils.

So, I went to Las Vegas in June 2010 for my friend's birthday. It was supposed to be a super relaxing weekend full of Diet Coke, lounging by the pool, and enjoying time with friends. However, on the second day, I started to get a twinge on one side of my throat. By the time we left, I had a fever over 102 degrees and couldn't even manage to drive us home. I stopped at Instacare on my way to my bed, where a strep test came back positive. I thought it was weird, since I've never had strep before, but filled my RX for antibiotics and went on my way, only to spend the next 24 hours in a state of the strangest stupor I've ever known. I still can't remember parts of it, I'm thinking probably because my fever was so high, but I would wake up in the bathtub, fully clothed with no memory of why I got in. I was so nauseated that I couldn't keep the antibiotics down, and my throat swelled to the point where I couldn't even talk! It was really freaky, so I went to another Instacare, hoping for an injection of antibiotics to get into my system. Instead, I was diagnosed with a tonsil abscess, which had to be drained in an ENT's office and I was given IV fluids for 48 hours, since I hadn't been able to keep anything down.

Crazy. So then, I thought that once I had been treated and taken my full 28 day cycle of antibiotics, that this ridiculous situation would be over. But since then, I have had tonsillitis about once every six weeks, always on that same side. So, after 18 months of dragging my feet, worrying, putting it off, and taking antibiotics x infinity, I have decided to say good riddance to those little suckers. Whenever you mention "tonsillectomy" to an adult, they cringe and wish you well. I am kind of afraid, but I am also afraid for my insides if I take yet another 14-day cycle of Augmentin. So, I will be going under the knife tomorrow at 1:30pm to say goodbye to them FOREVER.

I still blame Vegas, secretly.

married life.

So, being married is pretty fun. The first week was pretty amazing, with a lot of lounging and eating and napping. The second week was fun, because we were just unpacking and putting away all of our awesome new stuff, plus spending all of our gift cards on some new kitchen items. The third week was the part when I actually felt like this was my house too, and that I wasn't just on a super long vacation at someone else's house! And the fourth week was where I started to feel adjusted to cooking something for dinner every night.

Having a cat is super fun, and living with my buddy has been a pretty low-key experience so far. It is starting to feel more normal to not have to go home at night, but at first it was really weird. Also, the adjustment to being called Allie Blackham is sort of strange, but at least people can actually pronounce it. 3 hours combined at the DMV and social security office were well-spent, I suppose, since now it's all official.

I am moving and will have the internet again! So maybe (can't make any promises) I will start blogging again. Who knows? The reason I'm moving is because I'm getting hitched! Met the man in October of last year, getting married October of this year. 19 days, to be exact! I am SO excited. We bought a condo in SLC and he's living there now, but we adopted a kitty so I spend a good amount of my time over there snuggling with the baby kitty.

Pretty much everything is planned and ready to go...now it's just getting through the next 2.5 weeks of work, and then I get a whole week and a half OFF! Which will be glorious. We are heading to Mexico the Monday after we get married for a few days of relaxation, and then coming back to get our place all set up and ready for us.

Other than that, I've been trying to run more, but everytime I get on the treadmill, my stomach starts cramping. I don't know what the deal is, but it's super frustrating. I'll just have to keep trying. Can't wait to see my family in a few weeks and celebrate with them, and soon I will be Mrs. Chris Blackham!

Some things

So it's been awhile. I don't actually have the internet at my house, except for this tiny patch of floor in my roommate's room so that could partially explain my lengthy absence. Or not, I'm not really sure. But I have some things in my brain that I would like to get out before I lose them, so why not use this venue?

First thing is that I am completely smitten by the song "Paperweight." I never knew I could love a Joshua song more than "These Photographs" but this one wins. Although it kind of breaks my heart now, because of the other thing. I don't really know what to say about that whole thing, except that I think it could have been something and it hurts that it wasn't. I maybe was too invested (no surprise there) but for some reason, this time it just felt different. Guess not. I don't know. I just wish there was a way to keep emotions out of things until you know for sure that it's a thing. But that just doesn't happen. One thing that completely drives me crazy about the whole dating experience though, is that every time I start to let someone in and give them a chance and start to think they might be different...they completely go the other way. And then I'm the fool, every time.

This is very silly. But to me, it wasn't. And I had to get these things out of my brain. Listen to Paperweight and fall in love with Joshua all over again.

i got a new job. i now work for the IHC sandy clinic. my official job title is office coordinator, although that makes it sound like i have a lot of responsibilities. mostly what i do is schedule surgeries for the two plastic surgeons, one oculoplastic surgeon, and one general surgeon. in my spare time, i am learning how to code office visits and procedures for the plastic surgeon, and enter all of his surgeries for the past six months into a website called tops. it's a pretty great job, but mostly i'm hoping that he's going to decide to turn me into his walking advertisement for all the awesome surgeries he does. the best part is that i got my first paycheck yesterday, and it was both direct deposited and way more than i got at my old job.

living in salt lake is probably my favorite thing. only driving 15 minutes to work (versus 45) is pretty fantastic, and being able to go for long runs in liberty park with tons of other runners is so great. i never thought i'd be a fan of utah, but clearly that was before i knew how great salt lake really is.

the only thing missing is a kitty. reading alitris' post about kitties and doggies made me realize how much i really do want a cat. i think it'll have to wait though, because my roommate is not a fan of any sort of animal in her living space, and i think it might create a problem for both me and the cat if i were to keep it in my closet.

i officially have 12.62 hours of PTO, so my next trip is in the process of being planned. as soon as i have a free plane ticket from my credit card points, someone in my family is getting a houseguest!

my new life.

well, i still don't have internet. but lucky for me, i worked/am working 48 hours this week, so i have had plenty of time to catch up on my internet addictions. one day i'll get internet in my apartment. maybe.

so here's what happened to me since i last blogged.

1. i moved to a new apartment in salt lake. according to the voter registration, it is technically in south salt lake (or SoSaLa, as the city officials are trying to rename it) but i maintain that it's just regular slc. so that's cool. i have a rad apartment, two super fun roommates, and a balcony from which we watched a high-speed police chase this week.
2. i graduated from college! i wasn't too excited for the commencement, but it actually turned out to be really cool. the part where we all stood up and they conferred the degrees was really awesome, especially. and i never have to go to school again, which is pretty fantastic.
3. i ran in the salt lake half marathon again last weekend, and it was the best race i have ever done! the first 11 miles were so great; i ran the whole time and felt awesome. the last two were medium, because they were up a hill, but i finished and even took 18 mins off my time from last year, which is pretty exciting.
4. along with that, i signed up for the st. george marathon, which is really kind of terrifying. i find out 11 may whether or not i got in, so if i did - i will have to start training immediately.
5. i got to sit lower bowl for a jazz/lakers playoff game. besides the time i sat in the eighth row, it was the greatest day ever. being in the vicinity of deron williams it just fantastic, even though they lost and are now out of the playoffs. awesome.
6. i have had a cruise to mexico booked with my best friend since like september. and of course now is when this epidemic of illness sweeps mexico. and when we called to see if we could cancel, we were kindly informed that if we cancel now, no refunds will be given. so virtually she spent a month's rent on a cruise that we may or may not get to take. they will probably re-route our cruise, but what if someone who is sick gets on? ugh. i'm not happy about it. stupid pigs.
7. i'm sick of hearing about swine flu. beyond sick, actually. if one more person comes into work and tells me they think they have it, i am going to punch them right in the face. getting fired would be worth it.
8. i am getting a free red mango as soon as i get off work today. red mango with pineapple and fruity pebbles is the most delicious treat i have ever had.

being grown up and working full-time and paying for insurance is not all it's cracked up to be.