Hives Glorious Hives

Last night Patrick and I shipped the man-child (that would be Andrew) off to my sister's house, and we headed out to eat dinner and do a little Christmas shopping.

I had every intention of:
(1) enjoying a blissfully peaceful dinner.
(2) making a dent in the rest of my Christmas shopping.
(3) sleeping very well because Andrew was spending the night at Sarah's.

We went to dinner at Kobe Steakhouse. I love, love, love Japanese food. I also have a love for Italian, Chinese, Mexican, American . . . actually, I just love food. But in all seriousness, I am about as far from a picky eater as you'll find, and my love for seafood is rivaled by nothing else. Anyway, if you're not familiar with Japanese restaurants, you either sit at the sushi bar or you sit at the grill. We usually sit at the grill. Since there were only two of us, we were seated with a family of six. I spent half of the meal trying to figure out the dynamics of this family, but that's another (strange) story for another time.

So back to the food, I ordered the sea scallops because I love scallops and rarely get to eat them. They gave me a huge serving, and I devoured every bite. I mean, I tore it up. Toward the end of the meal, just as we were finishing up, my armpits started to itch. I know what you're thinking, "Wow, that's hot!" Y'all they weren't just itching a little. It was fierce. But I couldn't do a thing about it. And by the time we left the itching had spread across my chest. Nice huh?

So when we got into Patrick's truck, I commenced to scratching like crazy. And Patrick was not in the least bit disturbed by my incredibly sexy behavior. Then I decided to look in the mirror at my underarms, and what do I discover but big 'ole hives. So we hightailed it to the nearest pharmacy where I then bought $30 worth of antihistamines. This was turning into an extremely expensive meal.

By the time I got back in the truck, the hives were going down, so I decided not to take anything because everyone knows Benadryl makes you sleepy, and I still wanted to shop. I figured as long as my throat wasn't closing and my tongue wasn't swelling, I'd be okay.

So I shopped, came home, and went to bed. I didn't have any problems until 12:30 a.m. I woke up itching like nobody's business, and discovered that the hives were back with a vengeance. So much for a good night's sleep. I took two Benadryl and parked myself on the couch where I proceeded to chat with not one but two online pharmacists from a certain chain pharmacy (who shall remain nameless). Their advice? Take two Benadryl. Done. And if I stop breathing seek medical help immediately. Okay, first of all, that's reassuring. And secondly, duh! I'm not sure how much this online pharmacist gig pays, but I could totally do it in my pjs while eating cheeseballs. All I need is a pharmaceutical degree.

The hives, thank goodness, haven't returned (at least as of 1:30 p.m. CST). But seriously y'all, did I develop a sudden allergy to shellfish? Is it just the scallops or was it something else? Will it get worse, or can I like take two Benadryl and eat shellfish anyway? Because if I can't eat shrimp or crab or lobster anymore, I'm not sure I can exist in peace and harmony with the world. I need my seafood.

That's all.