Week in review...

Where to start... ?

The last week has been interesting to say the least. As I mentioned previously, we had an amazing time in Florida for Sheena and John's wedding last Friday. I just posted a few pics from the weekend... what a BEAUTIFUL ceremony and venue!

The reception was perfect- I wish I could have snapped some pictures! They had a steel drum playing, served tasty Caribbean food, then the Trinidadian DJ took over and we got down to business! I'll tell you one thing- Trini's know how to party. Her 50+ year old aunts and uncles were getting lower than us on the dance floor.

Post-wedding, they rented a bus and hauled us to Panama City Beach where we danced the night away, drank fruity beach drinks, and taught the club how to Dougie (naturally). I had flashbacks of my 2003 Spring Break trip with Jess, Chelsea, and Mary to PCB- only this time time I didn't get my fake ID confiscated and Lil John wasn't in concert.

We flew home Saturday so we could have some time to re-coop and get ready for work the next week. Boring, I know. It's probably a good thing we came home early though... I had a typical "Kate" thing happen while in Florida.

Kate- meet Yellow Flies. Yellow Flies- meet Kate.

If you've never heard of a Yellow Fly, you're lucky.

It's the evil equivalent of a mosquito/horse fly hybrid, and they are abundant in Florida during May and June, on the coast, in shaded areas at dawn with no breeze. Or this exact environment from the pictures taken below:

For some reason, if there are bugs in the area, they flock to me. I've heard people joke about me "being too sweet".... that's definitely not the case. I believe I'm jut cursed. Either way, there was a period of 30 minutes or so that we were outside and I remember swatting these things off of me every few seconds.

Little did I know it would send me to the minor Emergency room later that week!

I knew something was wrong when we got home Saturday night and my ankles and shins were swollen and on fire. I woke up Sunday morning to what looked like blisters all over my legs. Panicked, Zeke ran across the street and picked me up some Benadryl meds and anti-itch cream. Didn't help.

As the week progressed, it only got worse. I counted Monday night, and I had over 40 bites on my right leg, and over 20 on the left. They were swollen almost to the size of dimes. I couldn't sleep, was alternating ice packs on my legs to try and keep them from itching- I have literally been in insect bite hell.

I sucked it up and spend Wednesday morning in the Minor Emergency Room. Luckily there's one within walking distance, so I got there right at 8:00 am when it opened.

Here's what the doctor saw:

Gross- I know! It's not even your leg. Or your wife's. (Poor Zeke, I haven't exactly been the most pleasant and attractive bride to come home to.) This picture isn't even the worst part... I'll spare the rest.

The doctor informed me that it's good that I came in that morning- my skin was infected, and I could have ended up in the real Emergency Room for IV treatments! I have "Cellulitis". First, I thought he said cellulite, and I was like.... No I don't- Ruuuuude! And he told me again, "No, Cellulitis is a skin infection when you've had a high amount of bites, cuts, or wounds in a concentrated area". He said I'm lucky I didn't get a Staff infection considering the count of bites and the severity of my reaction.

I've spent the last week choking down 8 horse pills a day, rubbing calamine lotion on my legs, and trying my hardest not to scratch. It's been horrible!!! Not how I wanted to spend my first Memorial Day. But- I'm lucky I caught it early enough and that it didn't get worse.

I've officially finished all of my meds, but it still itches, so I think I have to go to the doctor again to make sure... I don't know... that my legs don't need to be amputated or something.

Which leads me to my next chapter of this long and hodge-podge post- our first Memorial Day in DC! We really were hoping to head to one of the beaches in Virginia, but couldn't (for obvious reasons). I decided to not let my Cellulitis get the best of me, so I rebelled and had fun anyways.

Friday, I grabbed some drinks with co-wokers Krystina and Sloane at Coco Sala. What a cute place!! They have a great HH at the bar. Of course, I didn't get pics of us, but I did get the food!

Lychee, rose water, and Prosecco cocktail. Mmmmmm. 

Shrimp Mac, Tuna Tar Tar, Mushroom Risotto, and Lobster  something.

Gone in 60 seconds!

Saturday, Zeke and I laid around and watched the Food Channel all day, making ourselves hungry for some BBQ. On a mission to feed our craving, we hopped on the metro and spent the rest of the day in DC. I took him to Hill Country BBQ, it's the best I've had since moving here! and they serve Blue Bell Ice Cream- Sold.

Next, we headed to H&M, did some shopping, then went home around 9 and went to bed early. We had the best of intentions to get up, ride our bikes, and do something productive Sunday. 

Turns out, we slept until about 2:00 again, finally got up, and went to Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill for some food & drinks before heading to the 2011 Memorial Day Concert on the West Lawn of the Capitol. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Lobster Salad

Taps

Monogrammed hankie ;)

Pia Toscano singing the National Anthem

Gary Senise and Joe Mantegna

Colin Powell

Today, true to form, we laid around until about 2:00, then headed down to the pool for some sun. After, we went to Lost Dog for some pizza, stopped by P Brennan's for a Car Bomb with Eoghain, and came home around 6:00 for a mid-day nap. 

And with that, I'm spent! I finally feel caught up- hopefully I won't have any more Yellow Fly bite stories to share. Hopefully they will heal this week and I'll be able to wear shorts again. Wearing pants in DC in the summer is about as comfortable as in Houston- aka not at all.

Hope you had a great weekend, sweet dreams!