Ants in my pants

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Yes, the weather has been gorgeous, and spring is really and truly here. Maybe even summer, since it's supposed to be 88 tomorrow. I've been slightly incapacitated for most of this week. You see, last weekend was also really nice, and I decided to go out in the yard and sit on the grass. Of course there are a lot of dead leaves and old grass under the new growth, and I was getting a little itchy sitting there, so I got up and walked around instead. After a few moments, though, I realized I couldn't stop scratching my legs. I thought that there must have been some unusually scratchy plant remains there. When I looked down, I saw that my legs were covered in big bright pink welts. Let me tell you, not a pretty color on me. I figured I must have sat in some poison-ivy-like plant or something, put some Calamine lotion on it, and try to go about my day. I didn't get too far, because soon after that it turned into blisters. Some swelling, pain, and a trip to urgent care later, I found myself taking 9 pills' worth of antibiotics per day for an infection caused by fire ant bites.

Yippy skippy!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, one of the biggest hazards of living in my beloved South Carolina is fire ants. I thought I was an old pro at avoiding them, but the sneaky bastards were under the dead growth. Evidently, they didn't like my thighs crushing them on their scouting missions. So, I've been kinda out of commission this week. It's getting better, but having to wake up at 2:00 and 6:00 to take pills is getting old really quick!

I felt bad that I had to cancel my lessons on Monday, but today my students gave me "o-mimai"-- a get-well gift!

In this case, the o-mimai is this adorable box of bunny cookies! I was so touched! (And the cookies are mighty tasty to boot!)

I also received an Easter-basket-by-mail from my mom. She loves Easter, and we always went all out when we were kids. We even had an Easter tree. K looked confused when I said this. Was my family the only one to do such a thing?

Look at all that loot! She even put some flower bulbs in there for our little patio garden. I'll make sure to wear pants and rubber boots when I go out to plant them.....

Better updates to come soon, I promise!