Punkins

[Yes, I know how to spell pumpkin - but punkin is cuter and it matches my 'mood' this morning. No rhyme or reason as to why that's true - but it is. It's a 'punkin' morning vs. a pumpkin morning.]

I drove to Manteca yesterday to go shopping at JCPenney. Found a couple nice outfits to add to my 'dressing like an administrator' wardrobe. Still room for more pieces but I need to really do a major closet cull before I can procure anything else. I can't find things....that's not good.

The traffic was jammed on the return trip home and I thought 'well, people heading home from their weekend in the mountains'. NOT. It was the pumpkin maze! I have NEVER seen so many cars. They were parked on farm fields! because the parking lot (which is HUGE) was full. Wow! Made me decide to not go 'cuz it would be a huge hike just to get to the maze. I'm happy for the family that owns the place - this one event is what keeps their farm going. And this year, the are adding some 'winter' events for December - a hill covered in snow for 'sledding' and a 'drive-through' Christmas lights route, as well. We will DEFINITELY go to that, even if we have to wait in a lot of traffic.....it was the busiest I've EVER seen it - they will need to do some traffic control next year because the freeway was really backed up and the exit to the farm is also a 'merge' point - dangerous to have slow traffic there.

H. is still having a hard time - we had to refill his pain pills yesterday. The doctor told J. to now start alternating 'warm towels' with ice. H. is living on KFC mashed potato bowls...it's the only thing that sounds good to him. He is very swollen - his teeth were a lot more impacted than B.'s were, so it's been a lot harder on him than it was on B. Today is parent-teacher conferences at the high school so H. has an extra day off to recuperate that doesn't cost him an absence. We'll see about tomorrow. I think he could handle going to school but he's very self conscious about how he looks - he won't even look up because he doesn't want us to see how swollen he is. Poor boy. It will pass. I keep reminding him his puffy cheeks wont' last forever - they'll be back to normal in a week at the most. Hoping I'm right 'cuz he's not coping too well with the Alvin the Chipmunk look.

B. has a paper due - it was actually due LAST Tuesday but he put it off and put it off and is now taking a hefty penalty on the grade. When I last got involved, it was still not done. Old habits die hard....still time for band, and napping, and guitar, and video games, and hanging out with friends - but no time to work on an assignment that you've known about for weeks....WEEKS! Welcome to college. It's disappointing. But I'm letting it all play out....no point in getting wrapped about it - what's done is done.

Off to ready myself for another long day. Have a terrific day and a great week!