Cross that one off of the list

I have an unwritten list of things I would like to do in my lifetime. It's got the normal things: see the Great Pyramids of Egypt, ride out a hurricane (not the smartest idea), run a marathon, etc. Totally normal things.

There's one thing on my "list" that scares me more than anything else: anything that involves needles. You see, I'm absolutely terrified of needles. I'd have a tattoo, but the thought of a needle pounding down on my skin over and over again makes me want to vomit.

So while I may never muster up the strength to get a tattoo (I'm so afraid that I'll pass out and end up with a "tramp stamp"*), I really wanted to cross off "donate blood" from my list.

In order to have the strength to go through with this I needed a partner in crime. My favorite partner in crime, the hubs, just happens to be freaked out by blood. Freaked out doesn't quite cover it- his mom is a nurse and anytime he visits her at work, he has to cover his eyes and stare down at the floor. So yeah, for donating blood we make quite the pair.

Thankfully, the Orioles sponsored a blood drive and to entice people to donate, the O's offered up a free t-shirt and two free tickets to a future O's game. The hubs wasn't interested at first, but after a few gentle suggestions (cough- constant nagging) he was ready to donate.

I'm not going to lie, I had every urge to sprint away once the volunteers took the hubs to his donation bed. Thank goodness, the nurse who was overseeing my donation was incredibly kind, patient, and humorous. Although, he was a bit stern with me that I was pumping too fast. Apparently, it took me less than six minutes to fill up my bag and that's a bit fast. Whoops!!! At that point I just wanted to be done and proclaim that I actually went through with it and survived being impaled with a needle (okay, that's a bit over dramatic).

Unfortunately, the woman next to the hubs fainted (twice!) and that wasn't good for the hubs. Next thing I know I look over and the hubs is laying down and being attended to by a crowd of nurses. It seems he got a bit dizzy and the nurses weren't willing to take any chances after their last patient fainted on them. He was fine and as soon as he was given the okay to get off the bed he was ready to get the heck out of there.

My brother-in-law had the hubs and I over for a BBQ after we were done donating. Nothing makes us feel better than BBQ and cake.


Yeah, we're rocking out our arm bandages. I had the hubs picked to choose hot pink, but apparently his nurse didn't give him a choice.




It seems it isn't quite a BBQ with my brother-in-law unless something catches on fire!!!

*this is a How I Met Your Mother reference