From this in January..........To this at the end of February....................
Four weeks of battling a cold that turned in to bronchitis. Coughing like I've never coughed before. 3 Cortisone shots, 5 days of steroids, 10 days of antibiotics, an inhaler prescribed, cough medicine with codeine...........and I have yet to sleep through the night. Took off 2 weeks from work........went back for the last 3 days.......had to take today off.......the coughing won't stop! To the point of gasping for air, gagging, etc.

Now this has entered the picture.....................

They are called Tessalon Perles. I called my doctor yesterday afternoon and begged for something else to get relief from the coughing. Target finally filled the prescription at lunchtime today and I took my first dose and within 20 minutes, the cough had subsided! So I went on the internet to research this medicine a little further. Apparently they work by reducing the reflex in the lungs that causes the urge to cough. It "numbs" the stretch sensors in the lungs. Quite a few side effects associated with the medicine but the pharmacist said the best thing to do with this medication is drink lots of fluid. No problem! Have been a little light headed and have got a bit of a headache going on, but I can take Tylenol and deal with it if the coughing continues to stay at bay.
Here's hoping that I look like this kitten tonight!!!

~Allie

A Great Giveaway in Dallas!

"Nest has been a destination for unique gifts and home accents for over a decade. The original store had two locations in Dallas before its owners moved it to University Park's Snider Plaza, where it currently lives. Two years after the move to Snider Plaza, Nest was ready to be sold.
Enter: Scott Alexander and Heather Wiese-Alexander, budding entrepreneurs, and soon-to-be new owners of The Nest. Nearly four years later, Nest has undergone a full transformation. Although the merchandise assortment is dramatically different, the heart of the original store is still quite alive. The original art concept inspired a full gallery in the upstairs catwalk surrounding the entire store. The hand-made crafts blossomed into hand-made categories in every "department" from gifts to linens, to home accents, to furniture. The merchandise assortment still has a very high percentage of exclusive musings, making Nest a destination for an array of unequivocally clever findings." excerpted from nestdallas.com

Have yet to visit this store, but it's on my bucket list for this spring! I went to college with Donald Fowler, their buyer and store manager, and his eye for style has been nothing but fascinating since the day I met him!! Check out the Nest Interior Design blog site........it's got great style and wonderful photos that inspires every persons inner decorator!!!

~Allie

23 years ago today..........

23 years ago today, my sweet Patrick, asked me to marry him. Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you are sharing the day with someone you love.
~Allie

Mardi Gras Disappointment.........

I am SO disappointed! I was selected to host a Zatarain's Mardi Gras House Party through this really cool site. I registered , answered a questionaire and was selected. Having lived in New Orleans for the first years of our married life, my husband and I were so EXCITED to have been selected. We had big plans!The party in a box arrived with so much great stuff! Beads, masks, coins, awesome Zatarain's products, recipes, party ideas, Mardi Gras trivia, coupons, a Zatarian's apron, my own party website to do all of my party planning and inviting.....the party planning had begun! Let's see.......Earl's shrimp dip to start off the night, some gumbo, some jambalya, some red beans and rice, some crusty, french bread.............and this!!!...............

Big Daddy LOVES himself some king cake and especially the one's from Meche's Donut King in Lousianna. They will ship these decadent, bad boys to you. His favorite is the raspberry and cream cheese filled king cake that weighs in around 10 POUNDS!!!! Yes, Ma'am!!! One of these was coming to MY house!!! The Cupcake Princess was set to bring a car load of college friends down for a Mardi Gras celebration. Her British exchange student friend really excited and the guys just happy to have free food. Friends had RSVP'd. Mardi Gras music was selected.......lesse le bon temps roulez...................
And then.....bronchitis hit! I haven't stopped coughing in 9 days. Steroids, cough medicine with codeine, antibiotics, a cortisone shot............my abs are KILLING ME!!!

So the big question is this...........is it possible to reschedule a Mardi Gras party during Lent? Hmmmmm.........what would you do?

~Allie

Snow, bronchitis.....it must still be winter!

Mother Nature paid the DFW area an arctic visit this past Thursday and Friday. Around 7 inches of beautiful snow, power outages, and phone outages.

Wish I wasn't under the weather (ha!ha!) with stupid bronchitis. Have been down with it for a week. Antibiotics, steroid pack, prescription cough medicine, and a follow up cortisone shot that finally opened up the airways and I'm still coughing my head off and don't feel any better. Back to the doctor's office on Monday, I guess. I really can't miss any more work, but don't want this to get worse.

Anybody have any home remedies for the relief of bronchitis symptoms? I feel like I've tried them all. I'm making a pot of chicken tortilla soup right now. Stay warm and healthy.......

~Allie

A great movie to "get away from it all"!

My birthday fell on MLK day and I had the day off, however, I spent a good deal of it going back and forth to the hospital twice to visit my mother-in-law who's health just doesn't seem to be getting any better. After her procedure that day, she had to lay flat on her back for 5 hours, so my husband whisked me away to a movie and dinner. What a big surprise and a great escape! You'd think that it was more of a chick flick but my husband and I laughed through out the whole movie!! Maybe we're the right age and target group, I don't know, but I love him for sneeking the two of us off to the movies. Have you seen any good movies lately?

The word of the week...........BALANCE.

~Allie

Christmas Memories

After spending the last 11 days helping my husband care for his mother who was in the hospital with atrial fibrulation, we left for my parent's home on Christmas Eve, leaving my mother-in-law in the hands of my husband's siblings. Opening the door into my parent's house after the 3 hour drive in unusually cold and snowy weather, this is what greeted us! Aaaaaaghhhhhh.........it's good to be home!!

We walked into the family room and THIS is what greeted us. A warm, roaring fire. A dog sleeping peacefully by the fire. Christmas presents under a sparkling tree. Christmas music softly playing in the background. Hugs from my parents. Aaaaghhhh......it's good to be home!

After unloading a jam-packed car trunk and getting the dogs to all settle down, we all sat around the fire and enjoyed cocktails and wonderful treats that my mother had prepared. It was great to just sit back and visit. No place to have to be. No place to check in on. Just existing in the here and now. Aaaaghhhh.......I love being home!

It was unseasonably cold, below freezing on the first few days, and the dogs wanted to be in our laps more than ever. These are only a few of the pictures I took of all of the dogs wanting to snuggle. This is my mom with their little, chihuahua mix, Couger. She's about 10 pounds of fierceness, but she loves to snuggle with my mom.

This is my husband with our scottie, Pippen. My two mustached "boys". If my mom's dogs were going to snuggle in someone's lap, so was Pippen! He just doesn't realize that he's not a little 10 pound lap dog.

This is Justa in my lap. She's named Justa because my dad always said that their next dog was going to be named Justa because he wanted my mom to remember that she was Just A Dog. Justa is in love with my dad and he with her!

Now that we're back home, my mother-in-law's health continues to give her trouble. She's back in the hospital for congestive heart failure and they are planning to do an angiogram tomorrow to see what they can do to help her. As we go through these next few days of unknown with her, I keep the warm memories of Christmas at home close.........memories of my happy place.

Hope you have warm memories of the holidays as well.

~Allie