Emergency Appendectomy

Monday, May 25th, I was on my 4th day of vacation, had plans to go to the beach with my daughter the next day. Around 4:00 I began feeling a wee bit uncomfortable in my abdomen. It stayed about an inch or 2 above my belly button. I can describe it as a fullness and an ache more than pain at that point. I thought maybe I was coming down with a intestinal virus so I wasn't too concerned. 
As the evening progressed, I noticed I couldn't get comfortable no matter what position I was in. I felt like I needed to vomit and when I did, I noticed some bright red blood. That alarmed me and at that point I put my sweet husband on alert. 
Around 11:00 pm, we decided to go to the ER. The belly pain was getting stronger. 
We got to the ER around 11:20 pm and was taken back relatively quickly. I was taken into a small exam room. I immediately noticed the "linens" on the gurney were stained, but I was too sick to care at that point. I made it a point to sit as far away from the stains as I could. The nurse came in and began the necessary barrage of questions. In between those, she was literally yelling at another patient or someone with a patient. A male wearing scrubs came in to the room. Unsure of what his title was. I heard him say to the nurse "let the million dollar workup begin" in a tone that was displeased. As sick as I was, I could tell that neither of these people enjoyed their job, nor cared to be there. I will share a personal "tmi" bit of info but it is important to me in this. I have weak pelvic muscles. I have had 3 children and coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping and or vomiting will cause leakage when you aren't prepared. I wasn't prepared. I began vomiting and in the course, wet myself, the bed, the floor and my slippers. I was a bit embarrassed but not enough to ask for help. I asked the male "attendant" if I could have a Chux pad when he had a moment as I had soiled myself and the bed. He mumbled something and literally threw  it on the bed in a crumpled heap and walked out. I couldn't believe how UN-caring he was. 
Amidst everything going on, I remember being questioned as to why the anti nausea meds weren't working for me, as if I was lying about the nausea (even though I was actively vomiting). I remember the Dr asking if I wanted anything for the pain. I was hesitant at first but gave in. When the male "attendant" gave me the pain med through the IV, I asked what it was because I was feeling very strange around my neck. He said it was Morphine and that it was normal. He then made it a point to say that Morphine and Dilautid (?) were the drugs of choice for the druggies. Thanks. I enjoy being compared to a druggie.
After several rounds of Phenergan, Zofran and Morphine, I was so looped up, everything kind of blurred together. I vaguely remember an Ultrasound being done in the room, a surgeon coming in telling me I had appendicitis and needed surgery, the same surgeon and a nurse getting in to a heated discussion as to why I had not had a CT scan at that point. I recall being a bit panicky when they put me in the CT scanner and I was worried I would have to vomit and I wouldn't be able to sit up in the tube.  My daughter and her boyfriend came to the ER to bring me a change of clothes. I remember him sitting in the hallway and I was thinking at how uncomfortable he must've felt watching his girlfriends mom puke her guts out. 
At some point in the night, they put me on the Med/Surge wing. I had a room finally. I had to wait until morning to have the surgery. luckily, I don't remember much about the night, except waking u every 10 minutes to vomit and moan then I would pass out again. My sweet, sweet husband never left my side that night. 
At 8:00 am, I was wheeled away to the OR. I welcomed being put under. In the pre-op room, I was again being hit with the barrage of questions, over and over again. I thought to myself, "why can't all of these people stand together and ask me these questions ONE time". I couldn't hold my eyes open most of the time and they were becoming annoyed at me for not answering their questions. 
They finally wheeled me into the OR. The only thing I remember is the room was very cold. I woke up what felt like minutes later but it had been hours. It was over. I was in pain but not like the pain I was in. The nausea and vomiting were gone. I instantly felt better. 
Back in my room, I was surrounded by family and friends pretty much all day. The staff on the Med/Surge floor were amazing. The care I received in comparison to the ER was like night and day.  The nurses and all the other staff members went above and beyond to make me comfortable. I was released at 12:20 am, Wednesday the 27th of May. I am home now recovering and am happy it is all over.

A Disney Christmas layout

Hello! I have a fairly simple layout share. It's an 8x8 page which isn't normal size for me. I have an 8x8 album that is one of my many Disney albums. This one has my Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party layouts in it. I used Craftsmith Christmasville paper pad which I purchased from Michaels before Christmas. I love this paper pad! It is a bit playful and the colors are whimsical to me. Perfect for Disney scrapbooking. Here is the layout completed.

 Some of the papers where getting lost among each other so I edged them with a gold Sharpie. I used a sketch I pinned from Pinterest. It came from a 2012 sketch from Pagemaps dot com.

 I had an old tab cut from burlap and it fit perfectly at the top of the photo. I used Teresa Collins Studio Gold Sticker Alphas for the title and a few enamel dots for some interest :-)

I also edged the strips of paper to help them stand out a bit, a few dots and some wood veneers pulled this area together nicely!
I really enjoyed the process of this layout. It took me a total of 22 minutes to put together once I had selected my products. 
Hope you enjoy and Happy Crafting!

A magical day

After 30+ years of dreaming about it, I finally got to go. Disney during the holidays. Yes, I live in Florida and have been to Disney World numerous times. Why haven't I attempted to fulfill my dream before now? Who knows. Bad timing, busy part of the year, other financial obligations, etc...
My co-workers purchased a ticket to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party for my birthday in September. What an awesome gift! I had to wait almost 3 months to use my gift but it was worth it!

How can anyone NOT be happy in the happiest place on earth during the holidays?? I am a kid at heart and ever since my first trip to Disney as a young teen (yep, I started late) it has been a bit of an obsession. It's the one place where you can totally forget about your troubles and problems in life while you are there. 

I am always amazed at all of the little details. I have to hand it to Disney. They make sure that the experience is worth the exuberant amount of money you will spend.

 I will be the first to admit that I have cried during the fireworks display, the parades, and shows. I am THAT passionate about it! Some may think it is childish but that's what I love about it. Being able to forget how old you are and enjoying the little things in life like the smell of cookies piped in to Main Street, the latex Mickey balloons, the Mickey shaped ice cream, wearing ridiculous hats with ears and no one judging you because THEY are wearing them too. 

If you have never been to a Disney park (GASP) I highly recommend visiting one. Especially the Magic Kingdom. If you aren't a fan of crowds, go in late September-mid November or wait until mid January-early March. The temps are more tolerable too. 

And don't forget about the resorts. You can find hidden treasures such as a life size gingerbread house! This one is at the Grand Floridian. All in all, this visit was short but an experience I will never forget. I think a new tradition is being born!

Merry Christmas!

Stampin Up!

I finally took the plunge after months of tossing the idea around. I am officially an Independent Stampin Up! Demonstrator. I am (not so) patiently awaiting the arrival of my starter kit which is due to arrive ON MY BIRTHDAY! Until then, I thought I would give a sneak peek of the goodies I have already.

As you can see, I made a card for a fellow co-worker's birthday coming up. 

I look forward to sharing many projects with you all!

Please stop by my online store at tracydavis.stampinup.net if you need/want anything. There are so many new things Stampin Up! has ventured in to including Project life. 

Until next post, Happy crafting!

A little under the weather

Made this handy little storage unit to hold some of my Project Life style cards. It holds 2 rows of 3x4 and one in the back of 4x6. I used a Silhouette file. 

The 3d vertical journaling card storage box by Lori Whitlock  #48178. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical. The cards are heavy and generally, using a standard card stock was going to leave it a bit flimsy. I opted to use 110 lb stock, Michaels brand. Once this bad boy is constructed, it is hearty! I was very impressed. So much so, I have made two more. If you are unsire of how the box goes together, Lori Whitlock has made some fantastic video tutorials on You Tube. Try one out and let me know what you think.

I'm back!

Been away for quite a while. Moving can do that! All settled in and ready to get back to blogging. I managed to make some time to create this adorable shaker card!

The butterfly is a Silhouette cut file. It is a Lori Whitlock design, Design ID #59920.

I had such a blast making this card. It is very simple to do. All you need is card stock and some recycled plastic from packaging (I used a sheet from a stamp set).

There are several to choose from.

Happy crafting :-)

Handcrafted embellishments

I saw a "manufactured" embellishment similar to these and thought "I can make these"! I had everything already so why not!

Some Dear Lizzy mason jars from my stash, recycled acetate from packaging, some sequins and heart punches and my sewing machine. Viola!

Took me less than 15 minutes to put together.