Of All Stars and Allergies

As always, my weekend was much too short!  Friday found me traveling to Gresham to spend time with my new guy, where I was introduced to the basketball games of the All Stars.  We watched the dunking, the free throws, and the other antics of basketball players while we ate Chinese food.  Saturday found us cruising around Portland so he could show me where he grew up and attended school, then climaxed with dinner at Olive Garden. 

The weekend would have been perfect had I not decided to be a little adventurous.  After arriving home on Sunday, I drove Sam's friend Victor to his house to pick up a few things.  As I sat in the car, waiting, Sam's buddy Garrett came out to share a bag of Mexican staples - chicarrones.  Interesting and kind of tasty, I ended up eating two or three.  Uh oh, big problem.

Beware the Chicarrone!!

Apparently I'm allergic to the Mexican chicarrones.  Within minutes my neck began itching and turning red with hives;  my bottom lip then began itching and swelling, like a Real Housewives lip enlargement gone wrong.  I was scratching my sweaty, red neck as I continued to form words through my new puffer fish persona.  Not good.

Of course we had to stop at the store on the way home so I was forced to browse the grocery aisles all the while looking as if I had an an advanced case of sunburned psoriasis.  Jordan went with me; I kept my eyes on the floor as I didn't want to run into someone I knew.  I hadn't taken a shower, my hair was up, no makeup, and my body was glowing with a red aura of itchy allergy - it was not a good day to run into a high school classmate!!!

Once I made it home, I popped two Benydryl to get the hiving under control.  I promptly changed clothes into a cotton tee shirt and shorts to get comfy while awaiting the itchy to depart.  It only took three or four hours for the allergic reaction to be gone but I did learn one lesson - never touch a Mexican chicarrone again!!