Lately
A minor surgery, several major events, and a near death (okay, not really) experience
Hey! It’s been a while. The summer flew by in a haze of trips1 and celebrations, and now it’s already November somehow. This year in general has been incredibly busy, which in large part has been due to the fact that my two best friends were planning their weddings—one back in May (hi Britny!) and the other last month (hi Melany!)—and all of the appointments, prep, and parties that come along with that. It’s been so special and so much fun, but we have also really been looking forward to just being three married ladies.
Since it’s been almost a year since my last “Lately” post, we’re going to be really generous with our definition of that word. Today, “lately” means “at any point in the last eight months.”
GOODBYE, FALLOPIAN TUBES!
In March, I had a bilateral salpingectomy (a.k.a removal of both fallopian tubes), and I’ve never felt such relief. This is something that I’ve thought about doing for years but just assumed that I wouldn’t be able to because of the cost and living in Texas.2 Luckily, a work friend shared that she was able to easily schedule hers and that our insurance totally covered it as preventative under the ACA, and I was like wait, it’s possible?! And given the fact that everything is *gestures broadly* it seemed more prudent than ever.
The surgery and recovery went very smoothly (obviously Louise was very helpful), but I did have to jump through some hoops to get everything taken care of. Although the OBGYN I’ve seen for the last ten years was fully supportive of my decision, she wasn’t able to actually do the surgery because her practice is under a Catholic hospital and they don’t let women get sterilized unless they’re over 35 or dying. She told me to establish care with another doctor at our regional clinic for the surgery, which was (thankfully) easy enough, but still frustrating. Love to be a woman! Healthcare in this country is a joke! (Also, I ended up getting a bill for $3,600 from the hospital and had to file an appeal with my insurance, which ended up getting fixed, but it’s like what if you just did it right the first time? But I digress!)
But all of that was 100% worth it. I feel so at peace now that it’s done, and it felt really powerful to take control of my own body and future. If you’ve been thinking about it or are curious, I’d be more than happy to answer any and all questions.
MY BEST FRIENDS’ WEDDINGS BACHELORETTES
Yeah yeah, the weddings were so beautiful and special and fun, but let’s talk about the bachelorette parties because they were real cute and I’m not just saying that because I helped plan them.
For Britny’s in April, she requested a slumber party (a.k.a. slumberlorette) for just the three of us. Melany and I decided that the theme of the weekend was ~nostalgia~ and really leaned into it. We decorated a photo wall,3 made friendship bracelets, and got coordinating nightgowns and fuzzy headbands. We ate pizza and gummy worms, and drank kamikaze shots and Sex On the Beach (old favorites from nights at Barbarella). We watched The Lizzie McGuire Movie, 13 Going On 30, and Freaky Friday while we put on fun make-up and took a bunch of silly photos, which were all the cutest photo you’ve ever seen. The next morning, we had breakfast at Magnolia Cafe where we surprised Britny with her then-fiancé Tim (and Dylan and Kevin) and toasted mimosas to the 20-something single gals who spent many a late night eating pancakes at Magnolia together.
Melany’s bachelorette was the opposite in many ways because Melany is the biggest Woo Girl™ in the world and wanted to invite anyone she’d ever spoken to. In the end, eleven ladies squeezed into an Airbnb on the east side where we ate pizza and took an undetermined number of Mexican Candy shots before bar hopping, followed by living room karaoke and a truly unhinged amount of Whataburger and Chinese takeout. (I think this post does a great job of summing up the night. And yes, we set up another photo wall because hey, if ain’t broke!) The next morning, we had brunch at Sawyer & Co. and then everyone went home and (I assume) took the best nap of their lives like I did. (I also made Melany-themed goodie bags, which included a Melany sticker I designed (see above) that is maybe my favorite thing I’ve ever done).
COLORADO BEND STATE PARK
For Dylan’s birthday in September, we took a day trip to Colorado Bend State Park (about an hour-and-a-half outside of Austin) for some hiking. We’re lucky enough to be a short drive away from several state parks, but Colorado Bend looked the most interesting AND has a waterfall.
Originally, we were only going to hike the Gorman Falls Trail that goes directly to (you guessed it) Gorman Falls, but we pulled up to the park at the same time as a church group that consisted of roughly thirty children who were, of course, also taking that trail. So we didn’t get stuck amidst the throng, we took the Tie Slide Trail, a more circuitous route that leads to an overlook and meets back up with the other trail. The overlook was beautiful, as were the falls, even in the midst of a drought. Dylan also happened upon a patch of milkweed with dozens of butterflies fluttering about, which was magical as hell.
It wasn’t all magical though. I saved us from crossing paths with a rattlesnake hiding in the brush at one point, then ten minutes later fell and literally almost impaled myself on my walking stick. (The bruise on my side was disgusting, but also very impressive, honestly.) A large chunk of the Gorman Falls Trail has essentially no shade, and it all ends in a very steep and pretty treacherous descent to the falls themselves. We also didn’t account for the additional water we’d need by taking the long way, so we hiked the last couple of miles back to the car under the midday sun with no water. (Don’t do this, kids!)
The best part of the whole day? Probably the Gatorades we got at the gas station afterwards. Nothing has ever tasted as good as that Gatorade.
Including our honeymoon and whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania that I still plan to share about soon.
Republicans.
May or may not have completely rearranged the living room of our AirBnb (including taking decorations of the wall) for this.
I'm so happy for you that you were able to advocate for yourself and get the care that was right for you! Having been through it - it's so nice to be out the other side!
Okay. The slumberlorette is ADORABLE.
An aside: I've been meaning to ask you for ages what you use to edit your photos because they are always delightful and so you! <3