Monday, December 08, 2008

If Your Name is Nicole, Do Not Read This Post


I woke up on Sunday morning with that awful twitch/throb feeling in my lip. I turned the bathroom and linen close upside down, looking for my magical cold sore cream, to no avail. All I could do is wait wait wait (tick tick tick) for the inevitable to happen. Which it did, in mere hours.

This is the worst cold sore I think I have ever had in my entire life. Actually it is two cold sores that are slowly merging together. Nice. My upper lip is so plump at it curls up my lip a little and exposes my front teeth, like a chipmunk. It hurts terribly. I haven’t had one in a very long time. I think this monstrosity came because I just got my flu shot, and even though my doctor told me to up my Vitamin C to compensate for my temporarily-deficient immune system, I didn’t. So I imagine my immune system is slightly compromised and boom, this thing blooms. Good thing they only last for a week or two (yes, I am being sarcastic).

In other health news, Avery’s hand surgeon appointment went well. The doctor confirmed that her cyst is of the safe variety. He said it will most likely get bigger and bigger, so we will need to remove it at some point. She would indeed need anesthesia, but he was very reassuring about that, saying that there was zero risk of side effects. Yes, he said zero risk of anesthesia aside effects. I thought there were no absolutes in medicine? He said Nicole and I just had to decide when we were comfortable doing it. That could take a very long time.

So Christmas is 17 days away and I am still wondering what to get Nicole. She is a very difficult person to shop for. I am so easy: You could buy all of my gifts at the drug store and I would be thrilled. I have hobbies that require many accoutrements, so there is always an endless list of things I will covet. And, of course, there is always diamonds and pearls and the Mac store.

Nicole is not easy at all. She typically buys what she wants and needs, and that said, she doesn’t want and need much. I am trying to think of the last recreational thing (besides clothes) she bought herself and I am drawing a blank. Probably a book, and I most likely bought it for her. In addition, Nicole has few gift-able hobbies. She watches football, but that doesn’t require accessories. She plays golf, but her golfing days are limited, between work and the girls and life in general. She likes to read, but books as gifts lack that wow factor. She doesn’t wear jewelry, and I have already indulged in her cuff links desires over the past seven years of birthdays and Christmases and anniversaries. How many pairs of cuff links does one girl need?

In a bold move of originality and way-out-in-left-field ridiculousness, I have been thinking about getting her this mainly because she has shown an interest of late in this and I am so desperate for her to develop an interest in something that can be useful in gift-giving occasions that I am willing to jump start it. But I am not sure she will be thrilled to bits, and that is what I am going for. And this product has a very interesting return policy, so I need to make sure she will like it if I buy it (if you send it back, unopened, you still fork over 50 bucks just for the honor of having it in your home).

I know the holidays are not about gifts and all that, but all the same I wish I could think of something spectacular to get her. She goes out of her way to find amazing presents for me and I just want to be able to do the same.

I have been a crappy blogger of late. I need to update more.

Pictured above, the weekend. I have a whole series of pictures of Avery running into Nicole’s arms. Too cute. And Avery with her newly older cousin. Also pictured, my crazy lip, taken with my computer camera. Yes, I posted a picture of me with cold sores. Hopefully the other pictures balance the ugliness out. Be glad you aren't me.

17 comments:

Audra said...

So sorry for the cold sores, those are never fun. But oh my! Your glasses!!! I LOVE them. I personally think that is a really neat gift idea! how intriguing!

Anonymous said...

ouchi! those look super painful!

You sound a lot like me, and Nicole sounds a lot like Klove. I keep giving Klove ideas for presents for me and she keeps rolling her eyes -- she doesn't need ideas, I'm a walking WANT. She, on the other hand, needs and wants nothing. Le Sigh.

K J and the kids said...

The holidays are entirely about gift giving. who are you kidding :)
I can't wait to hear how it goes.
I saw that on Oprah and wished I could do it.

Anonymous said...

OUCH. Maybe ice or something?

I know, these people drive me nuts. I like what Chicory said - I'm a walking WANT. But I always have a few tricks too...here are some ideas.

KINDLE!

Or - does she read a lot of PDFs for work? The Sony e-book readers are kick-ass, and take PDFs no problem, and I think you can write on the screen. There's another brand too, which I'm forgetting right now.

Or nice briefcase/satchel thing? Have you seen the Matt & Nat ones? They're vegan but seriously, I love the style - not super old-man looking or girlie.
Like this:
http://www.endless.com/Matt-Nat-Mens-Streamline-Briefcase/dp/B001E5CRVA/
There are other styles, but you get the idea.

Does she like coffee? Nightcap? Those stem-less wine glasses are awesome. So are the Bodum double-walled beer glasses (which I use for water or juice or whatever - they don't leave a water ring on the table).

Bonsai for her office.

Tiffany men's necklace or something - but maybe that still counts as jewelry.

Kick-ass power drill. I LOVE mine.

Small little single flip-open knife for her keys? So useful with mail, boxes, kids' crap, etc. They have these really nice round ones that don't dig into your pockets or hand.

As a small add-on - a great travel mug? I have one that will NOT leak, which is something like an anomaly in this category of containers. I can find it if you're interested.

Nice headset for cell phone? Jawbone II.

teeveezed said...

Ouch! We have 'Zovirax' ointment here and it works a treat for big whoppers like that.
Are you chasing Nicole around the house pursing your lips and saying 'kiss me, kiss me?' I would be!

psapph0 said...

A Wii! maybe with a football game or something...

Got your e-mail and failed to respond. Sorry. I'm off Dec.19th til the 5th. Will we persevere and find a day!

Landlady of Fat said...

Whew, lucky my name is Tina! :D

Ouch!! Hope that goes away soon -- I know I would feel the same way about it!

Anonymous said...

ICE! Sorry about this time; I can feel the throbbing in empathetic pain. If you can't find your cream or acyclovir pills, keep ice against the tickly burn for as long as you can. It won't make the cold sore go away, but it can seriously diminish the size.

Shelli said...

Narda is the same way-ugh!!!

Soooooo, I went and grabbed her fave necklaca and got a new chain and polished the heck out of the star of David on it. So I'm now determined to find all of her: "it's broken and I'll fix it/get to it/have it repaired later stuff and just do that!

Does Nicole have anything in that category?

Jess said...

I was going to say Kindle too...they are really awesome and great for readers.

Love the pics. Hope the cold sore heals fast.

Susanica said...

Wow. Those cold sores look very painful. Hope they heal very soon. Have you thought about the Genome Project at National Geographics? Su bought me the kit for my birthday a few years ago and I loved getting the info on my lineage back and also loved knowing that part of the cost was helping scientist do similar testing of people in really remote places in the world. You can read more at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/

Have a great day. Your kids are such cutie pies! -Monica

Linda said...

Ouch on the cold sores! Hope they heal fast.
Does Nicole have a place for all those cuff links you've given her?
Check out www.redenvelope.com. They have a pretty cool jewelry box just for cuff links, and other nice stuff.
Take care. And hug those precious little girls for me!

Anonymous said...

poor thing. i've just recovered from a horrible cold sore and what I really hate is firstly the fear of infecting the babies and secondly not being able to kiss them for so long. apparently they are only infectious during that first poxy stage where (sorry) it looks like you are. In the scabby stage supposedly not so. but who would risk it? So i truly empathise. I've had them since i was a child and have not had any for a number of years. our twins have just turned one and over the last year i think i've had three. a pox on the pox. Take care- avoid chocolate. Lou

Anonymous said...

I am the mom of a, now grown, daughter that has had cold sores since she was very young. We recommend taking L-Lysine. It is a natural supplement and I swear to you a miracle for those that suffer with cold sores! My daughter starts taking them (2-3 at a time) the moment she feels the tingle and continues to take them until the sore is completely gone. the L-Lysine will lessen the severity of the sore, the duration and it just works! Hope you feel better soon!

Anonymous said...

youch! those look painful! do you have a script for an antiviral med like acyclovir or valtrex? you take one as soon as you feel that tingle that you talked about - can really prevent or lessen the severity of the eruptions - also cut down on the length of time you are contagious. would certainly be worth it with whoppers like those. painful! and you don't want the girls to contract the virus, so another good reason.

i took antivirals when i had a shingles breakout when my kidlets were about 9 months old. helped a lot. and my hubs has genital herp so he manages all the time with these drugs. safe and very effective. :) (no i don't work for drug company :)

Anonymous said...

but have you made her photo cufflinks of the girls.. email me for links..
nonbiomom@yahoo.com

anna said...

I totally feel for you with the cold sore(s). Once in med school, I got one that spread from my lip up to my nose and I looked like Shrek! Since my babes were born, I've been so paranoid about getting a cold sore and passing this plague onto my babies that I've taken valtrex 500 mg daily to prevent them. So far so good in 8 months. Otherwise, you can take 2 grams of the valtrex right when you feel the first tingle and then another 2 grams 12 hours later, and the cold sore shouldn't even make an appearance. Hope you feel better!