The time I lost 5 seconds of my life

One of our "date ideas" was to donate blood together. I had a friend tell me they were giving away King's Island tickets for donating blood this past Saturday and I thought what a perfect incentive for me to finally donate! Jeremy is a pro at donating, he's done it multiple times and it's no big deal for him. So I made appointments for us and off we went...

We took Paige with us because we didn't think we would be there too terribly long. I made Jeremy's appointment 30 min before mine so I could watch her while he donated and vice-verse. I was actually feeling pretty good the whole time, I made sure to eat breakfast and lunch and had downed 32 oz of water before we got there. Jeremy finished in no time and grabbed Paige... then they called my name...

I get to the chair and I'm still feeling good, she gets my arm ready, gets the needle in... she did put the needle in a little too far and it started hurting a little, so she pulled it back... but no biggie. The blood starts flowing and I'm squeezing the little squishy thing every 5-10 seconds. She said I was doing great and would be finished quickly. As I'm getting close to finishing my arm starts to feel pretty weak and I start feeling a little light headed. She said I was all done, so she pulled the needle out, laid the chair back a little bit and grabbed me something to drink... I drank the Sierra Mist and laid back for about 2-3 min and started to feel better so she sat me up a little and I stayed for another 2-3 min and I thought I was feeling okay so I decided to head over to the snacks...

As I'm walking over to the snacks I get that rush to my head (you know the one you get when you stand up too fast). I'm thinking that I just need to get some food and stand still for a minute. I grabbed a granola bar and took a bite, as I'm chewing I start to feel a little nauseous. There was a lady standing next to me and she asked "are you feeling okay?" I think I said "I think so." Then I barely remember her saying "you don't look so....."

Next thing I know I'm opening my eyes to about 4 or 5 people around me. I'm on my back with a pillow under my head and my feed propped up on a chair...

Thinking about it now it had to have been about 10-20 seconds maybe?? All I know is I'm very thankful for the woman standing next to me because she caught me as I was going down. I'm sure I would've gashed my head on something if she hadn't been standing there. I'm also very thankful I didn't choke on the granola bar... not sure how I swallowed that...

Anyway, it is definitely one of the weirdest experiences of my life... I keep replaying it over and over in my head...

But I have my King's Island ticket and I'm sooooo looking forward to going!! I definitely earned it!

Date Nights/Family Nights

I've been telling Jeremy since the beginning of the year that I want to have more "date nights." These don't have to be 'get all fancy and spend $40 on dinner' dates, just fun things to do when we hang out together (like when Paige goes to bed and we end up just sitting on the couch watching TV). A lot of people have 'pinned' different blogs with suggestions for dates and I'm always inspired by them because they are so simple! So I told Jeremy that I wanted to create our own 'Date Night Ideas.' We came up with some great suggestions, but you'll notice that some of them include 'family night ideas' too. I also have been convicted lately of doing more things with Paige, rather than just her playing on the floor while the TV is on and Jeremy and I are playing with our phones (don't judge us!). We wanted to keep as many of these as cheap as possible, but did try to come up with a few that would be actual date nights with a babysitter.

Without further ado, here is our list (in no particular order):
1. Go to Bub's Burgers in Carmel
2. Go to IMA (We've lived here 4 years and still haven't been!)
3. Take Paige to the Zoo on a weeknight (they have all types of concerts throughout the summer)
4. Have a candle-light dinner after Paige goes to bed
5. Play board games
6. Play Wii
7. Go to an Indians game
8. Go walking at Fort Harrison
9. Sundae's (our favorite local Ice Cream Place)
10. Popcorn and movie night
11. Make chocolate chip cookies together
12. Plan our 10-year anniversary trip (yes this is 5 years down the road, but why not?! Make a list of places we want to go and start researching!)
13. Buy a map and mark where we have lived, visited, and where we want to go
14. Make a bucket list
15. Go to the dollar theater
16. Donate blood (this one scares the crap out of me, but Jeremy has been encouraging me to do it for a long time!) - Check 6-9-12
17. Volunteer at a shelter
18. Play game at Dave & Busters (or any arcade type place)
19. Get dessert at The Melting Pot
20. Go to Goodwill and pick out an outfit for each other
21. Go to a driving range
22. Go to a pottery place
23. Watch a TV series together
24. Go play a board game at a coffee shop.
25. Go walking on the Canal with Paige.
26. Take an art class together.
27. Play Racquet Ball at LA Fitness
28. Play Tennis at our local recreational/pool area
29. Go to a Pacers game downtown.
30. Rearrange a room.
31. Take Mac to board ripple Dog Park with Paige and let him go crazy.
32. Go to Whole Foods and get a slice of pizza.
33. Buy a 2 player Game App and play together.
34. Go to Saltire and buy a new board game and play it that night.

Do you have any other suggestions???