Please, No....

Sniffles which I hoped were due to the unbelievable winds we've had the past couple days are apparently rearing their head and proving what they are:  a cold or something.  I am freezing cold in a perfectly warm room and I want a nap so badly - but that will mean being in my bed likely freezing. Feverish?  Maybe.  Not sure.  But I am heading up to sleep for a bit.

Bless H.'s heart, he spent most of the night on the couch with Chloe-bear, tending her through the night.  I am reluctant to put her 'cone' on her when it's the most amateurish thing ever - the 'tie' is gauze strung through holes in the plastic.  Not only is it obviously uncomfortable (and I know all 'cones' are), it really seems risky to have a long, hanging bunch of gauze lurking about. Choking hazard, in my opinion.

We took Chloe to the vet this morning for a recheck 'cuz there is quite a bit of redness around her incision.  They said it's bruising - no fever.  She's been taking her meds like a champ and spending most of the time in her burrow sleeping away.

Jackson was loads of fun and while I didn't win anything significant to bring home, I did have a really fun long streak on a new machine.  Nice to play and enjoy it - with a group of really fun people also playing.  It was fun and I didn't get home until 9PM!  That's a late night for me!

J. has finished finalizing the trip reservations for the Rome trip which is in four short weeks!  Next, we plan Paris but need to wait a bit.

J. moved the rest of his 401K from his former employer into an IRA.  For three days, the funds were MIA - out of one account but not in the other account.  They finally arrived in the intended account via wire transfer.  Now, it apparently takes an act of congress to withdraw some.  We will figure that out in a few days.

Low key tonight.  Making pork loin, roasted potatoes, steamed veggies and fondue (appetizer) for dinner.  Opening up a nice bottle of wine.  Or two.  (Probably one if I'm not feeling great 'cuz I don't like to drink when I'm under the weather).

Nap time.  Head is muddled.

Plastic is a No

Chloe had surgery yesterday to remove a piece of plastic from her stomach.  While there were other options (attempting to remove via scopes down her throat or through her intestines), the vet told J. 'if it were my dog, I would do surgery to ensure the obstruction can be removed'.  Not likely she would be able to pass it on her own.  Poor baby.

Poor savings account balance.  Yee gads.  The water heater was a shock...and now this. Grateful we can say 'yes' to the $3,000 bill.  But still reeling a bit.

J. and H. are headed over the hills to Livermore - attempting to be in line early enough to get one of 14 slots a day for passport renewal.  Without a passport, the Rome trip in February will not be happening.  H. was less than thrilled at the prospect of waiting in line for (possibly) hours but realizes it's a must do if the trip is in his future.

I am heading up to Jackson later this morning with my car loaded up with items to donate to the Hospice thrift store up there.  Just another place to donate.  We did some work in the kitchen cupboards last night, donating 20+ coffee mugs and other assorted items.  We made room for our 'tall' mugs on the shelf easiest to reach which is nice for mornings.

We will pick up Chloe later this afternoon and the week of torture for her will commence.  She will be wearing a 'cone' to prevent her from messing with her incision and the stitches will be there for seven to ten days.

I may be glad to be going back to work in less than a week.

New Years will be low key.  I think J. and I will break out a bottle of our favorite wine and I plan to make some appetizers for the evening.  I'm sure the kids will be out and about -

That's all the news here.  Time to shower and get dressed so I can continue working in the garage and loading up the car.  This will be my last hurrah trip to Jackson for awhile.  It's been fun but it's time to get back to normal - once in a blue moon normal.

Disbelief and a Healthy Dose of Denial

Ninth day of the break in progress.  Can you believe it?  I can't.  Sixteen days seemed like forever and here it is the second Sunday and we're already down to just seven days left.  Dang it!  Time goes so quickly.

I have worked hard at doing stuff.  Making progress here and there as the days pass sublimely.  I avoid naps - I want naps but don't want to sleep the time away.  I'm getting used to staying up until 10 or 11 and sleeping in until 8 - perhaps I should consider this week going back to earlier to bed and earlier risings to help make the inevitable adjustment easier.  But I know I won't.

The boys are spending time out and about.  Last night, J. and B. went to see Unbroken - said it was good.  B. took his dad to the new Red Robin and bought him a drink.  They got home just before 11 as I was heading upstairs to bed.  H. went to an Ugly Sweater party.  I raided my closet and while he found a couple things he felt were 'appropriate' (ugly, in his mind), they were clearly 'girl' blouses with necklines that were too low.  In the end, he took a pair of my Snowflake Eyeore pajama bottoms and wore those.  Said he's improvise with a t-shirt that he'd draw something on.  Can't wait to see it. He's sleeping off the festivities.  It's 12:22PM and he's still in bed.  There's a partial bottle of some malt liquor beverage in the way back part of the fridge - Python or something like that...I just looked. King Cobra.  I knew it was a snake of some sort.  That counts, right?

J. and B. headed to San Leandro for a visit with J.'s brother.  I'm heading to vacuum the family room; tidy the kitchen and dining room; work on getting stuff together for Goodwill.  Trying to be productive while also enjoying the slower pace and lack of deadlines.  It's nice to be off for two weeks in a row.  I could sure get used to this.

I left my phone unplugged so long, it died.  Now it's not getting work emails - even though I've reconnected and logged on to the mail exchange server several times.  I glanced at it yesterday just long enough to realize there was an issue with the mail; see that it had 1% power left; and noticed a missed call from the hair salon - so I rushed to get dressed and out the door for my appointment. Put shoes on for the first time in days - Santa brought me a really comfy pair of slippers that are warm and very comfortable and I've been living in them since Christmas - my swollen, 'relaxed' feet rebelled and it felt strange to have shoes ensconcing my toes.  Hair cut is done and cute.

Chloe has been under the weather a bit the past couple of days - she barfed yesterday and didn't eat her food for a long time.  Today, she's eating but slowly - has to think about it.  We're keeping an eye on her and she's getting lots of extra cuddle time.

There's a Harry Potter weekend on and I've enjoyed watching all the movies!  Today's the last three! Even H. has been mildly interested and changes the channel in the family room to the same so he can watch, too.  The scene where Dumbledore dies still makes me cry - every time.

Back to productivity!

Merriement

Merry Christmas, 2014. I realized last night (as I awoke off and on pretty much all night) this is the 10th Christmas I've detailed/celebrated on this blog.

J. was up first and me not too much later.  I had said 8AM was my earliest so when I woke up just after 8, I was thinking I'd be the last one up - but the boys were still sleeping.  Merriment began in earnest just after 8:30, I think - though the morning is sort of a blur.

This year, we did 'things we love about you' instead of a scavenger hunt.  The boys had 5 envelopes each and a card inside with something we love about them written down.  They had to read them aloud before/while pulling the loot out of the envelope.  Not as much as in years past but they were both still pretty darn happy.  It was a fun morning.  Chloe had a ball unwrapping her gifts (with H.'s help) and then running around with new toys to play with.  She loves being with us on Christmas day and she loves new toys.

We had Queen and Chocolate croissants for breakfast.  Noonish, I heated up garlic bread to go with leftover soup....wait. Forgot to mention that I made Zuppa Toscano soup last night and it was SO, SO delicious!! Way better than Olive Garden.  So we planned leftover soup for lunch today.  As the bread was toasting, I made the cheese sauce for the au gratin veggies (dinner dish).  The boys thought an impromptu fondue sounded like a great idea - so I made more cheese sauce and they ate bread dipped in that.  They actually seemed to dip anything available in the sauce, including Chicken in a Biscuit crackers!  It was pretty yummy.  I skipped the soup and had fondue for lunch, too.  J. had soup.  And fondue.

The prime rib was in the oven at noon as well and the rub we made was delicious - it included fresh herbs from our Farm Fresh delivery and it smelled wonderful.  The meal was pretty darn wonderful, if I do say so myself.  My beef wellington/popovers turned out very well - the first time they turned out perfectly!  And the sides (green bean casserole, au gratin broccoli and cauliflower and mashed potatoes with a red wine au jus) were all really good, too.

Yesterday, I made my first ever homemade from scratch cream pies - and they turned out great, too.  All that's left on those is to meringue them - the reason I decided to make my own 'cuz I love cream pies but with meringue.  Hope I can finish them off as well as the cream part went.

We are still toying around with Europe trip plans.  The big trip we sketched out would be two full weeks.  It's not inexpensive.  I think my desire to fly Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy is something I'm going to have to give up.  At the moment, I think J. and H. will make a four night trip to Rome in February and then J. and I will spend 8 nights in Paris in March.  We can make both of those trips for less than 1/2 of what we were planning to spend on the big trip for all three of us.  As much as I'd love to all go together, we were adding extra days to wedge it all in - and that took us out of the 'pre-planned package deals' and into the 'planned, more expensive' deals.  The travel agency we use (the same one who did the Groupon trip we went on last year) really does have amazing deals - the 4 nights in Rome including hotels, airfare and ground transfers is under $3K for the two of them - that's pretty amazing!

It will work out better because H. is going to start looking for a job and/or go back to school soon.  I still want to give him that experience but with the two trips being so much less than the one we were planning, my frugal side takes over.  Two trips in the Spring and then maybe J. and I can escape to somewhere beachy for a few days in the summer.  I miss the beach.

The boys have all kinds of friend plans this week though not too much specific.  It's hard to believe we're already down to only ten full days of the break left - it goes so quickly.

Lots to do around here over the next few days - and I hope I get moving.  I didn't feel all that well today (headache, ear thing) so I'm hoping I'm not coming down with something.  The 10 sneezes earlier had to be caused by the rub I made for the prime rib, right?  Pepper.  It was the pepper.

I'm going to meringue.  Wish me luck.

Pies and Wrapping and Sirens, Oh My

The house is filled with the sounds of merriment.  Sirens blaring as B. plays Grand Theft Auto 5.  He is polite enough that he came in the study and said 'I'll close the doors for you, Mom'.  It doesn't help much to din the noise but it's the thought that counts.

We had H.'s followup appointment yesterday and the news is good.  At least we think it's good.  I have to say that there is a growing lack of confidence on our part though we know our oncologist is awesome.  It's just the scans come and go and it never seems like they are doing any comparisons to prior scans.  At least we never see the two scans (old vs. new) side by side.  It's all on discs and computer and they hand us the disc as we leave - but we're not radiologists so it's all foreign to us.  I can see the (still there) swelling that is mentioned.  It is in the tissue in his neck which is where the area is that was radiated the most.  Though his windpipe is moved back pretty much to where it belongs - still a teeny bit off of center but compared to where it was in April, it's a great improvement.

H.'s hemoglobin levels have increased each lab (they are three months apart) and the doctor asked him if he's been smoking.  He has.  He denies it.  But blood work doesn't lie.  I went to Jackson for the afternoon after the appointment which gave me time to get my reaction semi-tamped down.  Oh, I still reamed him - but I also tried hard to just talk it through with him.  How the doctor is assuming the change from lab set to the next is because he is smoking.  But what if it's caused by other things (it can be sign of still existing or new cancer(s); lung or heart issues).  The doctor will assume the explanation is smoking - 'cuz H. is smoking some these days, apparently.  So it's all messing with his blood labs at a time when the doctor noticing slight changes in things is imperatively important.

He says he gets it - but he's young.  I'm old and crotchety and tired of constantly worrying about things that he needs to take responsibility for on his own.  We won't be around on this earth forever and the 'cancer factor' is a part of his life forever - and he has to 'get that' and embrace it and do things differently to ensure his body's signals that things aren't right will be noticed and acted on.

Jackson was a nice day and the slots were looser.  I lost but didn't lose all I had to lose - and I played on free play for quite awhile.  I have enough left to go back for a day next week which I will enjoy.  It's my down time.  I enjoy it.  It's a Christmas gift to myself.

Today, I'm going to attempt to bake cream pies.  I've never made homemade cream pies and I've been doing a lot of reading and words like 'turned into soup' don't do much to help my confidence.  I know I could 'cheat' and use pudding mixes to make the custard - but I want to do them from scratch.  I like to learn new things and I think I can do it.  Fingers crossed.  (I have pudding mixes here as a last resort - and extra pie crusts, too - so if it all turns out badly, I can whip up reasonable facsimiles pretty easily.  I just hope I won't need my backup plan).

We have a ton of wrapping and other stuff to keep us busy as the day progresses.  Trying to get closets culled a bit - B. spent a few minutes grabbing stuff out of his room to donate. We have a variety of charity pickups happening over the next couple weeks and we're trying to take advantage of the easiness of having them come to us to pick things up.

I still have one gift that's not here yet and I sure hope it will arrive today.  Fingers crossed.  It's for B. and I want it under the tree tonight.

The boys are ambivalent about going to church this evening - as is their mother.  I'm aiming to just be home.  I feel tired down to my bones - I could sleep all day, I think.  I just want to veg and chillax with my family until it's time to get stuff under the tree and head up to bed.

I'm not sure tomorrow's 'take' will be as robust as the boys are used to but oh well.  Our budget was impacted by a new water heater and other things and it is what it is.  I shopped carefully and I'm sure it will still be fun.

Merry Christmas Eve Day to all - and to all, a good nap!

Day One

No, I won't be doing a count of days.  It's just a point of reference.

I awoke at 5AM and purposefully tossed the covers off.  Waited for the chill to set in so I could snuggle back in them and relish falling back to sleep.  Then had weird dreams until 8:45.  Very Freudian.  I won't tell you much about them except to say they involved being invited to a ball (and I got my dress at Sears), going into a building with dozens of stories, where everything looked exactly the same and there were dozens of doors - and I had no idea which 'bank' I was supposed to go into. None of the doors were numbered so I couldn't find the room I was invited into.  And then a guy was there with a miniature horse in a skinny crate...I felt so bad for the horse.  See? Told you they were weird.

I heard B. talking to his dad before I saw him - and then the huge hug came - which felt awesome. Though maybe not as 'hard' a hug as usual, 'cuz we saw each other seven weeks ago?  Still, it was great.  He looks well...and happy...and incredibly physically fit.

The day passed with errands - J. and I made trips to Costco and Winco to stock up for the week. Bought a standing rib roast from Costco for Christmas dinner - one expensive piece of meat! But it will be delicious.  B. went for a six mile run while we were out running our errands.  I texted him to ask if he wanted me to make fudge and he replied 'sure, if you want and I'll have one or two pieces'.  So I didn't get supplies to make fudge 'cuz I don't want to buy things that are hard for him to resist.  No eggnog (yet).

I made spaghetti for dinner.  Cooked six pounds of ground beef and made a huge pot of sauce.  We froze half.  Had two packages of meat to freeze for later dishes (tacos, sloppy joe's).  Leftovers for tomorrow night.  Menus are planned for the week so that's good.

I've decided to make banana and chocolate cream pies with meringue topping (instead of whipped cream) for Christmas dessert.  Hope I can pull it off.

H. is taking a friend to SFO tomorrow at 5:30AM.  The friend is moving out of state to live with his grandmother. Poor H. - another friend moving.

Tomorrow, we have no plans but hanging out here.  I have plenty of Christmas stuff to do.  Traffic today was horrible so I'm glad I don't have any reason to go out.  Maybe to Starbucks to get drinks 'cuz I've got quite a few free drinks on my card and I don't want to let them go to waste.

I missed seeing it ('cuz I went to bed before B. arrived home) but apparently Chloe was so wildly excited to see him, she went nuts.  Wish we'd filmed it for YouTube.  Next time!

J. has church in the morning so I'll spend the morning tidying up the office.

Oh, B. isn't a big fan of the new floors.  He says they look nice but they aren't cushy and warm.  He's right about that.  They are cold and hard on cold winter mornings.  But they are also much, much easier to keep reasonably clean.  Way less frustrating than carpeting.

Lights out time around here.  Made it until after 10.  Definitely holiday schedule.

Um, Something's Missing

Shortly after publishing my last post, I dutifully headed to the shower.  I turned it on to let it warm up. The downstairs shower is closest to the water heater - only steps away - and it usually heats up quickly. I also usually will turn on the hot faucet in the sink to run simultaneously - and when it feels hot, I know the shower is also ready.

This morning, after letting both run for a few minutes, it became pretty clear that the little bit of warmish water that had exited the sink and shower was the last of any warmish water we had.  There was no hot water.

We had a new one installed earlier this week - and then the work failed the city inspector - so the plumber guy had to come out again.  He did yesterday, made the change needed (which is a code violation and he should have installed it up to code without being asked to come back.  I'd be really upset about this except the city inspector pointed out that this particular code violation exists throughout our garage. Any type of anything that enters the ceiling should have a protection ring installed that won't let fire go up through a hole in the drywall into the upstairs rooms.  None of the various things installed in the ceiling of our garage have this - and haven't since we moved in 14 years ago).  Stupid builder cutting corners.  Though it makes you wonder how the garage passed the inspections as the house was being built?  Anyway - the water heater now has the correct part - and I've added 'fix all those issues in the garage' to the long list of things the house needs to be done.  

When the plumber guy came out to finish the job he didn't finish the first time, he made the repair - and then left the water heater unlit.  J. didn't notice yesterday 'cuz he didn't do many things that required him to run hot water.

I was the lucky one who discovered it - as I'm trying to get to work.  So like a pioneer, I heated water (in an electric kettle vs. a pot on the stove.  It's modern day pioneer style, I guess) and washed my hair in the kitchen sink.  Then I heated another pot of water and filled up the sink in the downstairs bathroom and used soap, water and a washcloth to get myself clean.  Not as 'awakening' as a shower, but it got the job done.

Even up at 4, I was still at work just before 8 - with gifts in hand.  A fun morning of passing out surprises to people; treating them to Starbucks; getting a few little things wrapped up.  We had a brunch birthday party for the people in our office who celebrate birthdays over the break.  A quick trip to a school site with a friend for lunch and then the afternoon flew by.  Before I knew it, we were heading to the offsite party - and it was also fun.

J. is en-route to Oakland to pick up B. but I am fading fast and will have to enjoy my first hug from him in the morning.  No way I can make it until 11PMish - two more hours.  My eyes are at half mast and I am so ready for bed.

Tomorrow, we go out in search of prime rib for Christmas dinner and procure other food items to get us through the first week of the break.

Looking forward to a couple weeks of down time!

And Finally!

At last, the last day before Winter Break has officially arrived!  I was up at 4:30 and headed downstairs for a somewhat leisurely morning.  Did most of the gift prep last night but have to put labels and bows on things.  I also promised (insisted, really) my team that I would be treating them to Starbucks this morning so will head in as early as I can and then head back out with their orders.  We have a fun day planned - lots of little events scattered throughout the day - and yes, wedging in plenty of work.

I feel a little cold hitting me this morning - stuffy head, headache off and on the past few days, sore throat off and on, too.  I pray it doesn't hit me hard 'cuz that's often what happens - plow through and keep on keeping on until I have some down time and then Ba Bam! - full force.  Here's hoping not this time.  I drank OJ this morning in the hopes that some Vitamin C will assist.

Funny story re: us.  Aging isn't for sissies.

I paid our property tax bill on December 1st.  I purposefully waited until the 1st 'cuz I want our money to stay in our account as long as possible - but the bill was paid.  It's a bright blue envelope that sticks out and J. vividly remembered taking it to the mailbox.  We were both sure of it.  But the 10th (due date) comes and goes and the county website still showed it as unpaid.  On the 11th, it flipped to 'past due' and added a 10% penalty - which is a not insignificant amount to add to an already pretty darn significant amount.  I was worried - check hadn't cleared; couldn't imagine what happened.

Earlier this week, my husband started to take things out to the mailbox and I noticed one of the envelopes didn't have stamps on it.  He insisted he would have known that and wouldn't have put it in the outgoing mail box without postage - but I wondered.  'Cuz neither of us are getting any younger and the list of weird things that happen around here keeps growing.

I didn't exactly blame him for the tax snafu - but I sure wondered.  Had he inadvertently dropped the envelope and it ended up going down the storm drain in one of the massive deluges we've had recently? Sure, pretty (very) unlikely - but could that be what happened?  The scenarios played out in my head - usually in the wee hours of the morning.

J. called the county office and humans actually answered!  And the guy said they had processed all the payments except any 'problem issues' - and suggested we wait a bit and see.  If I stopped payment on the check and reissued a new check, I'd be forced to pay the penalty - and that wouldn't be refunded in the event the payment was located.  So we waited a bit.

And sure enough, a letter arrived this week - with our payment coupon and the check attached.  The numeric amount was correct - but the written amount on the check was off by four hundred dollars - so they sent it all back to us.  We were in the 'problem' bin - and now we're not.  Check reissued and resent and while it hasn't cleared yet, it will soon.

That's what I get for writing a very large check in the wee hours of the morning when my brain is still waking up!

It's a good reminder to be patient with each other; kind to each other; assume the best.  I  know those are obvious things but as we get older and things start to happen that defy logic and reason, it's a good reminder.  Two really bright people muddling through the things that life hands us....one day at a time. Stuff happens, after all - and had we ended up never knowing what happened and paid the penalty and moved on, so what?  It's all fixable.  Always pretty darn fixable.

OK - it's really time to get moving now.  Must finish up Christmas gift prep and get showered and dressed.  I'm wearing jeans today and imagine most of the teachers and staff will be, too.  It's just that kind of day - the day I've been counting down to for weeks!

SIXTEEN CONSECUTIVE NO ALARM DAYS are about to commence!!

Pengle

I play games on Facebook...and I know some of you will be like 'what a total waste of time'.  Or 'people who spend time playing games are just lame'.  Or 'she complains how busy/swamped she is but she wastes time playing games?'.  

I have given up games that felt like they were sucking the life out of me.  I looked forward so much to the first Farmville 'new' farm - and it was fun for awhile.  There are now 20 or so 'farms' and there was no way I was going to invest my time on that game anymore.  Around the fourth one - all with separate 'missions' and goals - I was done.  I tried to just 'farm' for awhile - but even that was overwhelming.  It stopped being mindless and fun and started feeling a lot like work.  

I play because they help me decompress a bit after days that are very full.  I play because I think some of them help me think and plan and keep 'sharp'.  Time management games are not easy and I like them.

Pengle is a match three game that I've played for awhile.  I tried Candy Crush for awhile - but it's impossible.  Or feels that way.  Pengle is tough and I play some levels over and over.  And then, something will happen and you'll do something that gives you a boost or something that helps and ta-da!  A level you've been stuck on for a week or more is suddenly done - things just come together and everything works and you've completed the goal and are able to move on. 

Tonight, that feels like a life lesson.  I need to remind myself.  Sometimes, you stay stuck for a long time.  You try different things and they don't work.  You try new things and they don't work either. But if you just keep playing and trying, things will work out.  They really will.  Pengle helps me with that. Gives me a win now and then even if I've been stuck for a long time.  

Two more days and those days feel like an eternity.  I've come to the conclusion that the issue is having our holiday party on Friday evening.  It feels so 'hard' to work the long week and then leave work and essentially go to work for another couple of hours.  All I will want to do is just go home.  B. arrives Friday night and J. will leave to get him around the time I'm getting home.  I want to wait up for them to be back but geez, it's going to be really late.  It will be fine if I go to bed 'cuz I will see him Saturday morning - and the first hug is the best thing ever regardless of when it happens.  

I have made huge, massive progress on culling out my office.  It feels so good to let go of so much stuff that's just been piling up.  It feels great to have a little time to breathe.  To take the time to do this massive reorganization and cleaning is something I've only been able to dream about - or think 'I'll come in and do it on a weekend'.  But I've put many hours in on the project this week and clearly, one weekend wouldn't have been nearly enough.  It's wonderful to feel like I can do my job and still have a life.  I get to work between 7:30 and 8 and leave by 5.  Some nights, I'm out by 4:30ish.  It's nice to have a life.  

H.'s scan went well and he survived a no-carb day.  Now we wait until Tuesday to hear how it looked. As always, waiting is hard.  I feel on pins and needles about it - and I'm glad the phone hasn't rung with any 'please rush into the office ASAP'.  

Survivor finale also has us on pins and needles this evening.  

Should have named the post Pins and Needles - 

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Two days down and three to go!  Been pretty busy and the days are moving pretty quickly, so it's officially on the downhill side towards the break.  The entire district feels like pins and needles...everyone just waiting...and waiting.  It's getting closer.

I was supposed to head to Brentwood this evening for dinner with a friend.  The day here was weather free - sunny and bright blue skies with some streaky, white clouds which only provided contrast to the deep blue of the sky.  Not a drop of rain in site.  At 4PM, I headed out to the restrooms before heading on my drive there and saw the huge, HUGE black clouds coming in from the west.  The next storm front was coming and it was as big as the forecasts had said it would be.  I quickly texted my friend (who had already been warned that if it started to rain, all bets were off 'cuz I'm not a fan of making this drive at night even without the pouring rain) and we rescheduled for lunch on Monday.  Margaritas at noon!  We're both on vacation from our 'school' jobs so it's totally do-able.

And it is POURING right now.  Really, really coming down hard.  Which is awesome!  We need it. It was the right call to not do dinner 'cuz driving home in this would be awful.

I'm adding rain boots to my shopping list this weekend.  I've never had any.  Do you buy them to fit over your shoes?  Or do you wear them and carry your regular shoes in a bag and change when you're not sloshing through puddles?  It's so wet that my regular flats (sturdy and comfy) feel risky 'cuz one wrong step into a puddle of any size and I may end up soaked.

Another dinner with other friends is scheduled for tomorrow.  Then getting through a couple meetings on Thursday.  Friday will be wrapping things up; setting out of office messages; and our work Christmas party.  I'm not particularly excited about having to go somewhere at the end of the longest week ever - I just want to go home - but oh well. I co-host with my boss and it's usually pretty fun. Once I get there...it will be fine.

I did manage to do some wrapping last night.  Small steps make me feel so accomplished...and then make me want to spend the next day at home piddling - and of course, I can't.

H. had his PET scan this morning.  He survived all day yesterday with only protein.  No carbs or sugar of any kind.  He drank unsweetened iced tea and water all day, too.  The scan was done and we didn't get any frantic call from the doctor, so that's good.  Now we wait one more week to find out how the scan looked.

The last episode of The Newsroom aired on Sunday.  So sad the show is over.  It was great television and we will sure miss it -

Tweety-Like

My sweet husband went upstairs to get a sweatshirt for me to wear.  It's freezing cold...after a week of crazy weather, it feels like we will never be warm again.  Lots of rain, some wind.  It was the storm of the century though it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Lots of schools in the Bay Area closed but here in the Central Valley, we stayed open.  Unfortunately, parents decided to keep their kids home anyway (WHY?!) so now we research options to hopefully not lose a ton of money as a result of them deciding to take 'rain days'.  Totally unnecessary rain days.

The sweatshirt he chose is the bright yellow hoodie - so I put the hood up and pulled the cord and am sitting here like Tweety Bird (or maybe Big Bird minus the height) trying to stay warm.  Maybe we should splurge on some heat.  :-)

It's the weekend before the last week of school and then THE BREAK - which I put in all caps 'cuz that's how it feels this year.  So, so ready for a break.

I spent the week productively and filled my recycle bin three times with stuff that I'm culling out.  It's a long overdue massive cleaning out of files, etc. - and it feels so good to have the time to do that! And it's also so helpful to know that things that remain are things that need to be there.  Construction results in just so much stuff that accumulates - so it's great to have it organized and reduced a bit.

The upcoming week includes several night events - holiday gatherings and dinner with friends before the break.  It will go quickly.

B. will be home this coming Friday - can't wait to have him home for two weeks!

Errands to run, things to wrap, etc. will fill the weekend.  Looks like possibly more rain and that's fine. The errands can keep if needed and it will be a fun day/weekend of cocooning at home.  I ordered a variety of Keurig pods including some decaf herbal teas (for evening consumption), hot chocolate and hot cider!

Happy Sunday!  We're watching Hunt for Red October on casted Netflix (on J.'s computer but playing on the TV).  Slow, easy morning.  Heading out for errands soon.  J. will go with 'cuz shopping is easier with two.  Probably another stop at Starbucks - have two free drinks on my card and a coupon for another free drink.  Two extra stars for purchasing a treat today, too - so perhaps a Snowman cookie.

I am promising myself I will get to wrapping once we're home from errands.

It's so darn cold....I hate the thought of getting showered and dressed 'cuz I dread the freezing shivers that happen no matter how toasty warm the bathroom gets.

Sadly, we cancelled our pending Luna Encantada trip officially by requesting a refund of the 50% we left on deposit.  It was sad to do that - because it acknowledges we don't have plans to go there anytime soon.  Not this summer, at least.  But it's the thing to do.  The owner of the condo we rent was kind enough to refund the full amount - I think we cancelled with enough notice in the Spring that she had no problem renting the unit during the weeks we would have been there.  Still, I was expecting her to withhold one night as a cancellation fee so it was nice to see she didn't.

It makes me a little blue to acknowledge no beach in the near future but we will go again.  Just have to give ourselves a little time.  If we make the trip to Europe in March, that's a huge trip and should suffice for a couple years, at least - while we build up our savings again.

Once you get the travel bug, it sure is hard to get rid of it.

The movie is winding down.  I'd better get moving.

Monday, Monday

La la.  La la la la la....

I am sorry that song will now be in your head all day.  Or all night.

While it started off slowly, it picked up the pace (as did I) and we made it through a day of getting a lot of pending little things taken care of.  My assistant noticed the pace shortly after 10AM when her box kept filling up every hour or two with little things for her to do, too.  Felt good to see wood and to plow through things.

One of my strengths is that as I do one thing, it quickly leads me to think of others that need doing and one thing follows another and before I know it, what seemed to be a blase day turned into jam packed. Which is great 'cuz I'd rather be plenty busy than just hanging out.  And I accomplished a variety of things that needed doing; cleaned off a bunch of stuff that is done and over and strategized for 'what's next' after the little things are done and I still have all next week to fill before the break.

Thought the dishwasher was broken this morning but we think it was just a pan blocking the jets.

The wine last night felt like it would lead to stellar sleep but it didn't.  Something about wine winds me up, I guess?  'cuz the night was fitfully non-sleep filled.  Maybe it was my brain.

I had weird dreams that upset me - and then I dreamed about being upset.  Long night.

Tonight, I invented a new dish - a cream sauce and real pancetta (the pie place in Stockton has delicious diced pancetta which is really hard to find) made with the leftover wine and leftover heavy cream tossed with whole wheat spaghetti.  LOL - all that cream with whole wheat pasta.  I know.  Pointless.  But delicious.

So we're enjoying another bottle of wine this evening.  Practice makes perfect.  Only problem I see with this plan is the wine is about $12 a bottle - times 30 days in a month.  That's a healthy amount to budget for wine.  And we don't.  Maybe someday?  But now, no.  Feeding the 21 year old bottomless pit who lives with up eats up the wine budget.

J. will speak to the travel agent tomorrow and point out that moving our air reservations a couple days earlier saves $1800 in airfare....just letting him know that our dates are pretty flexible.  And it looks like we're going to add a day to ensure that J. and H. have enough time in Rome to enjoy the experience - vs. just racing from place to place to get it all in.  I want to be sure we allow time for H. to rest - he won't sleep on the plane (he says he won't, anyway) and I don't want him to start the trip exhausted.

It's only money.  We can't take it with us and we've saved most of our lives - so in 2015, we're cashing in some assets and not scrimping on this two week plus journey with our youngest son.

Nine days to go!  Let's do this thing!  I have so many things to do tomorrow, the day will fly by. Though board meeting days are long.  Always long.

Olivia-Like

Grappling with the two weeks looming in front of the two week break...two weeks feels like forever. Hoping the weeks go quickly?  'cuz it's torture to think of the ten work days stretched out in front of me.

I'm feeling very Olivia Pope-like as J. and I enjoy the first bottle of our case order of V. Sattui Gamay Rouge.  Seriously one of the best wines ever and I can see this becoming a regular thing.  Enjoying the slight 'lightness' feeling induced by wine as we ease into Sunday evening.  I guess I should go make dinner before I'm too woozy to cook.  We're having Teriyaki Chicken sandwiches - a take on the Red Robin Teriyaki Chicken Burger that I adore.

Side note:  Red Robin is open here in town now!  We haven't ventured there yet 'cuz like all new Tracy restaurants, the wait is ridicules.  But we will get there!

J. and I have been working with the travel agent who handled the Europe Groupon trip we took last year and are looking at taking another trip in March again.  This time, taking H. with us.  I gave him a heads up that we were thinking of it to be sure he was interested in going and he was very enthusiastic in his reaction.  Now, we just have to work on understanding what the travel agent has set up.  It's a bit more expensive than we thought - but we are asking him to book us in Premium Economy on either Virgin Atlantic or British Airways.  Not much more than we would pay with upgrading to the more legroom seats.  That part is going to be a surprise to H. .

The plan is for H. & J. to go to Rome for a few nights and I will stay in London for a few days. We all fly into London from SFO then J. and H. head to Rome.  I stay in London for a few days alone (I can't tell you how excited I am about that!!  Shopping!! Or at least window shopping!)  Then we meet in Paris for seven nights and we end with a few more nights in London together.

We will see if it all works out.  Still a lot of logistics to finalize and then have to figure out how to pay for it.  No worries there - just have to decide what account to dip into.  And we won't finalize arrangements on the trip until we see the oncologist on December 23rd.  H. seems fine - but he is running 'hot' a lot lately - sleeping with the fan on high in his shorts with no covers - and it's winter here and our thermostat is set for low 60's in the night.  I worry about that.  We will see.

My husband just made me still happier by asking 'would you like to go to Disneyland Paris while we're there'?  Um...YES!!  I am in turn agreeing that IF we do Disneyland Paris in 2015, we will forgo our every five year trip to Disneyland California - though we go there on the '5's' to celebrate that parks every five year anniversary.  But yes, to be in Disneyland Paris for a day or two, I will skip driving down to the Southern California and spending money to be there.  We will call it 'done' in exchange for one or two days in the Paris park instead!

And (while I wish he would surprise me), I also stated that I want to go to Tiffany's Paris on our 25th anniversary where I would like to select a Sterling Silver bauble.  Silver is the 25th anniversary 'gift' and I'm sure I can find something lovely that's well within our budget.  I'm just the kind of girl that likes to say what she wants to avoid any disappointments.  Maybe he would have done it anyway?  But now we will!!  I've coveted something from Tiffany's for a quarter of a century - and now, I will get something.  And maybe he will, too!  Lots of fun things in that store for both of us!  Silver keeps the cost to within our budget - even flying all the way to Europe to make that dream come true.

He will make me the happiest person on earth with this trip - 25 years from the day that was the happiest of my life.

Wow...this wine is really good.  I'm ready to go to bed.  It's not even 6PM yet -

Pondering

Is it merely coincidental that my current favorite nail polish is Margarita?

The High Cost of Gambling

H. lost a bet with a friend and this is the result.

The deal is he has to retain the flaming red hair for 24 hours - but it sounds like he's going to let it grow out a week or so and then buzz cut it off.

He's being a good sport about it - it was blonde before the red was applied.  Goofball.  Don't make stupid bets with your friends.

It could have been worse 'cuz for a day or two, H. was the person shopping around for the products required to create this look - until I said 'make your friend's girlfriend - the one who was going to cut your hair and apparently has some hair styling training - obtain the correct products for the job.  Not pay for the products - H. did that - but at least know what to buy.  A two step 'bleach then dye' isn't something a 21 year old guy should be shopping at Target for, right?

I got up close to a full hour earlier this morning and here it is 6:30 and I'm still not showered....the time just passes with my morning routine - easing into a busy day.

Got to get going 'cuz it's already Thursday (this week has flown by) and I still have a massive amount of board prep to accomplish by noon tomorrow.