Time to Bring Back the Happy List

**WARNING - SKIP TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE THE HAPPY LIST - FIRST I MUST RANT**

Okay, so I'm having a pretty crummy day at work.  My face feels like it is going to explode, thanks to my allergies being the worst they have EVER been.  I've literally been 'crying' all day thanks to the excessive eye-watering, so my eyes are now puffy and painful.  Neither Claritin nor Zyrtec seem to be doing anything for me, which leaves good old Benadryl.  Does it work?  Yes.  Unfortunately, it also makes my brain feel fuzzy and my eyes even tireder, so not really a great option for work/daytime. 

I'd love to call in sick and stay home, but that is really not an option this week.  After being out of the office for only two and a half days last week, the number of problems and urgent issues lurking in my inbox this morning is insane.  I spent most of my day attending to stuff I hadn't really planned to work on, and Thursday/Friday I'll be at a symposium, so... that leaves just tomorrow to get all my actual work for this week done. 

And then, to top it off, I got the bad news today that I failed my one-hour glucose tolerance test from last week.  By one freaking point.  Apparently, a normal score on it is anything under 130, and their cut-off for re-testing is 139.  I came it at 140.  The woman from the lab that I spoke to said it was nothing to worry about, probably just a fluke related to something I ate.  But now I have to do the three-hour test.  This not only involves missing another half day of work, but requires me to eat a specific diet for the three days prior and then fast for 12-16 hours prior to, and during, the test.  That's a long time!  Inconveniences aside, I'm also just a little freaked out because I have such a strong family risk factor for diabetes.  My mom was diagnosed in her late 40's without any other risk factors other than family.  Her mom (my maternal grandmother), just about all of her aunts and uncles, and several cousins are all diabetic.  I'm not a hypochondriac, but diabetes is the one disease I feel I'm destined to develop no matter what I do to avoid it.

*DEEP BREATH*

I feel a bit better.  I just really needed to get that out so that I can refocus on the positives.  So, let's see what those are: 

1)  My friend B is throwing me a baby shower in a few weeks when my mom and Aunt K are here, and I got my invitation in the mail over the weekend.  It's super cute and I'm super excited!

2)  The nursery is slowly but surely coming along.  Paul got the walls and ceiling painted so they're a nice bright white now.  A sister of a friend is coming out this weekend to start working on the mural that is going on one wall.  The baseboards, window, and door trim have all been replaced and should be getting painted this week.  We picked out a ceiling fan/light fixture yesterday and I think Paul is installing it today.  The crib has been ordered (I think I mentioned that a while back) and Paul and his dad are going to build the topper for the desk to convert it into a changing table.  We picked up a cute little bookcase and matching wall shelf at an antique store up in Michigan.  And Saturday my MIL and I hit up a few more antique stores near home and bought this chest of drawers (please ignore the doilies and other random stuff the store had displayed with it):

3)  I get to see Flash tomorrow when they do my 3D ultrasound as part of my third and final visit for the research study!  Definitely looking forward to that.

4)  I had a lovely anniversary getaway trip with Paul last week.  We ate lots of yummy food, stayed in a cute little B&B, got massages, did some hiking and picnicking, visited some antique shops, picked apples and raspberries at an orchard, and just relaxed.  It was a much needed break for both of us!  Here's a few pics from the trip:

 Pretty fall colors.

 Our room in the "Golden Tower" at the B&B.

Breakfast in bed one morning!

Raspberries we picked ourselves at the orchard.  It took a while to fill this basket since I kept eating them instead... the lady said to be sure to eat while we picked - so I did!

 Blurry phone picture but such lovely bright colors!

Sunset over Lake Michigan.

5)  My car is fixed (finally!) and Paul took it to work on Saturday and cleaned it for me.  Like, cleaned it.  Inside and out.  It's so shiny and smells nice and the seats and floors are no longer covered in stray hairs mixed with gravel/road salt and miscellaneous crumbs.  Yay!

I think I will leave it at that for now.  I'm definitely in a better mood having made this list.  Bring on the three-hour glucose test!  Time to knock that sucker out of the park!  Well, maybe not quite yet.  First thing's first:  time to tackle the commute home so I can take more Benadryl and close my puffy eyes :)