I'm Back

Good morning, B.

At least, I hope it's getting better as you rest and take care of yourself today. Between the weather and the constant holiday frenzy, it's no surprise that our bodies shut down and rebel against us. I'm not sick, but my body keeps telling me I'm tired and I keep trying to ignore it. I'm convinced that, to combat a plunge into utter laziness, I must get up early each morning, especially since I have no reason to. Whatever. This morning, I listened to myself and didn't wake up until 9:30. Voila! I feel a little better! I'm sure that won't stave off an overwhelming desire to nap in the middle of the afternoon, but today JJ has a 3:00 Dr's appt so the snooze will have to wait.

Can I tell you how glad I am that Christmas is over? Not that it was horrible, by any means. I just kind of have that post-wedding blues thing. Like I mentioned in my email, our Christmas was wonderful...quiet, calm and relaxing. No pressure to be anywhere or go anywhere or have anything clean or ready.

Christmas Eve morning was so much fun with K&R. They picked us up at about 5:50, and, surprisingly, we were ready to go early. I told J: you have 15 years of waiting for me to be ready and being late for things, but R doesn't, and he's a little twitchy, so I'm really making an effort to be on time. We zipped through Starbucks in K's new car (about which she could care less - a car is a car - but the boys were all over it) and then headed up to Seattle in the dark. R narrated the features of the BMW to J along the way, they talked work, and K & I got all caught up on important stuff.

We wandered into the market and up to the top floor of Lowells as the sun started to rise over the sound. K&I treated ourselves to a champagne cocktail with a lemony twist to it and a cherry in the bottom - couldn't have been a more festive looking drink (and yummy too!) Dungeoness crab Eggs Benedict to follow - yes, I was going to have crab for dinner, too! After breakfast, and watching all the ferries come in from various remote ports, we walked through the market as it was opening up. Most of the vendors were still setting up, so it was a little like the opening scene of My Fair Lady, and I loved it! We bought our crab and clams from the fish throwing guys, stopped in at the bakery across the street for a couple of cinnamon rolls for JJ, then made our way home. We were home by 9:20 and JJ was just waking up - perfect!

The rest of that day we spent running little last minute errands we didn't really know we had until we did a gift inventory. Fun, anyway, just the three of us tooting around town. K&R and the boys showed up at 7:00 and we enjoyed way too many appetizers and cocktails before we even sat down to our seafood feast. OMG, I was so full by the time I finally stopped shoving crab and melted butter down my throat and called it quits. T&S and kids stopped by around 8:30 after a day at T's parents' house, so they ate dessert with us which was very fun. They all left around 11, at which time we were still waiting for C to get here from Oregon - she ended up not being able to get the day off and worked until seven! Crazy. She finally arrived just before midnight, when J sat down and did his traditional reading of The Night Before Christmas with the kids.

We've been laying pretty low since then - not doing much at all. On Sunday night, we went over to T&S' house for a "healthy" dinner - we were all so sick of eating junk so we made a huge Chef's salad and it rocked! Afterwards, S and I sat at the computer and drank a bottle of wine together while building a playlist for New Year's Eve on iTunes. J & T sat in the loungers, facing us like an audience, while we sang at the top of our lungs, getting drunk, and yelling "I LOVE this song!" at each other periodically. I have to say, the most fun I had all vacation...great night.

Today I'm not very motivated, but must become so since I have to take JJ to the doc and then create a salad for dinner tonight. We were invited to dinner down the street - never actually had dinner with these people before - they are friends through our wine club friends - but it should be fun. It was awfully nice to have been invited. I'm already feeling overwhelmed, though having been out last night too. Thank God there's tomorrow night and NOTHING PLANNED before New Years. I don't even want to think about that yet.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've given you every possible detail of every moment of my life since I last wrote, so I'll sign off now. When is W due in? And what is Amateur Night? I hope you're feeling well enough for both Happy Hour and a sleepover with S - enjoy your day tomorrow either way. Oh, and how proud I am of you that you are going to the gym still, even when you're under the weather. You go, girl!
Love you!
A

Timing

Hey, A.

Of course, because I am on vacation, I am not feeling great. After a few days of lots of sniffles and more than my daily share of sneezing, I think I moved beyond my allergies are bothering me to I have a cold, complete with sinus pressure. It's not so bad that I'm planning on going to the doctor and otherwise staying in today, but it is enough that I'm going to avoid the howling wind that I hear outside this morning. I plan to stay in my pajamas and read until this afternoon, when I'll venture to the gym at 1.

Tomorrow I have plans to go to happy hour with L and J in Hartford, then am supposed to head down to spend the night there. C has been talking about my overnight since Christmas, but I suppose I should keep open the option of cancelling on the sleepover if I'm still in the throes of this cold. a) they don't need to catch my cold, and 2) I need my sleep...

I have no big plans for the New Year--definitely not for "amateur night", but W is planning on being here for the last few days of my vacation and we thought we'd go out for a nice dinner and drinks on New Year's Day. Unfortunately the weather forecast might change our plans a little, but we'll adjust as necessary.

Glad you had a good Christmas, hope you're enjoying this week as well...

Love,
Barb

Spent

Hey, A

It took three days (that feels like 5) to celebrate Christmas this year, since my immediate family didn't have Christmas morning festivities until today, and I am spent. Make that Spent. Capital S. But how nice to know that I have an entire week ahead of me to relax and regroup, then ring in the new year and spend some down time with W...all the while hoping a snow storm will cripple the Northeast when it's time to go back to school. Anyway... For now I'll enjoy the next few days with a moderate and manageable social calendar.

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas Eve celebration and Christmas Day, and that you've been able to relax and enjoy the day after.

Look forward to hearing details. I'll try to provide some tomorrow myself.

Love,
Barb

Merry Christmas

Good morning and Merry Christmas.

I hope you had a great day in the city yesterday (wearing that wonderful splash of color!) and a good night last night.

We had a small group at my aunt and uncle's on Christmas Eve, but it was intimate, and nice, and a blessing to have my cousin D there--just a day after her surgery. Today we are getting together at my cousin M's...and because my sisters are doing other things this morning with in-laws, we will have my immediate family gathering tomorrow at my mom's. I'll head over there in just a bit to have coffee with my parents and give them one or two of their gifts, but everything else will wait until tomorrow. Oh, and one more thing, after my family get-together at my cousin's toady, my nieces will be sleeping here tonight. We won't have our typical overnight with staying up late and having cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast--since we'll have to get ourselves up and over my parents', but they are excited nonetheless.

And then, a few days to relax...I am looking forward to vacation and spending the the first few days of new year with W, but I am also looking forward simply to being on vacation.

I hope you have a great day today. Sending my love and Christmas wished to you all!
xo,
Barb

Hello for Now

Hey, A.

Of course, because vacation begins in a few short hours, I have a migraine. Right at the beginning of my second class this morning I started strobing like crazy and could hardly see. Now it feels like my head is in a vice....

If you could, please throw some good thoughts out to the universe for my cousin D who is having surgery today.

Glad the package arrived in time for Christmas.

Love,
Barb

Memories

Good morning, Amanda.

Lowell's, huh? I love this picture that I took when we were at Pike Place Market this summer. In fact, it's one of the framed photos in my downtstairs bathroom. Anyway, that's a sweet tradition, and nice that K&R are including you. Yes, it will be early, but once you're there--no, once you're on your way--it'll be all worth it.

I'm looking forward to drinks with M today and A tomorrow, then only one more day until vacation. My cousin D has surgery Wednesday so I'm a little preoccupied by that, along with the list of things I've yet to do that keeps playing in my head, but I know that everything will get done, and D will be fine. And then it will be Christmas. And I'll be on vacation.

Jealous of you and JJ today...Enjoy it for me too!

xo,
Barb

Sleepy...

Hey, B.

Didn't want to leave you hanging on this Monday morning when you still have to be at work, but I'm on my way up to bed so I'll be brief.

Today we spent running errands, just J and I, until we picked up B & JJ, who is staying the night here tonight. I made pulled pork in the crock pot for dinner, which was terrific, then planted my butt on the couch with a glass (ok, that's plural) of wine and watched an episode of CSI followed by an episode of Criminal Minds...now I'll catch Leno in bed, with a channel surf through the news.

JJ&B and I don't have any plans for tomorrow so we'll take it easy, sleep in, etc. I'm so done with my shopping that I even finished all my grocery shopping for Christmas eve and Christmas day dinners. Yahoo! I mentioned that we're having dinner with K&R on Christmas Eve; we are also joining them for their annual tradition of breakfast at Lowells in Pike Place Market, to see the sun rise over the sound, and watch the ships coming in. From there we will head downstairs as the market opens up, to purchase our fresh crab and clams for dinner, and stroll through the booths. We've never been before and are pretty excited - all except that part where they're picking us up at 6:00am. At least there's a Starbucks stop on the way out of town. Should be fun.

I can barely keep my eyes open so I'm going to sign off. I'm hoping your last three days at work are busy enough to make the time go by quickly but not so busy that you're stressed out.

Love you!
A

Projects in Progress

Hey, A.

I'm so happy that you had such a great day AND a grown-up date night last night. I wonder if you've been to the new restaurant before, or if this was your first time there. (I think I remember you saying you had a new place in town.) Of course, I also wonder what the menu is like. I know that's all beside the point, but...you know me. Sounds like a perfect day all around. And the perfect season to have such a day.

Today for me is one of those ADD days, where I can't finish a project before starting another. I clean up a mess and make a new one, and I'm doing projects that can wait for my next snow day or February vacation, really--like framing photos and hanging /rehanging them. And all the while my wrapping sits undone. It's like ADD, procrastination, and anal retentiveness all in one. As it turned out, I'm not snowed in, but content to be in anyway. The next three days will be really busy, with no possibility of attempting a non-essential project, so I guess I'll just go with it today.

And now that I've had my tacos (so unlike me) and written a couple of paragraphs it's time to get back to the debris, and create some more. But the Pats won, my cocktails are tasty, so life is good....

Love you!
Barb

Joy!

Hey, B.

I might get interrupted here as we're waiting to be picked up by K&R for our completely unexpected grown-up dinner date. JJ got invited to Teen Late Night (school thing) with B, then to spend the night over there, so we suddenly had the night to ourselves. This, after having the entire day to ourselves, which was very nice. So we hooked up with K&R to go check out our newest restaurant in town, just the four of us. Delightful! I'm practically giddy! A Saturday night date!

Today was wonderful - we bopped around town running little errands, then strolled through downtown S, finding a cute, cute, cute ornament for C (that's the picture). We ended up at the bar at Applebees for a late lunch before picking up JJ at the movies, then ran a few more errands before heading home. After dropping him off at B's, we went to get gifts for J's admin staff and ended up buying wine club gifts, too, plus two new ornaments for our own tree, at Pier One. I looked and looked for those glasses, but no luck. Oh well...

Tomorrow, cookie baking and, according to JJ, sitting around ALL DAY in our pajamas doing nothing. Can't wait!

I hope your snowstorm is late enough to make a snow day Monday, but if not, I hope you enjoy the winter wonderland tomorrow!

Love,

A

Waiting for the Snow

Hey, A.

As L just texted, what a perfectly good waste of a snow storm--since it's the weekend and we won't get a snow day out of it. Oh well. We are expected to get 14 inches, the highest accumulation in a single storm since February 2006. I went out this morning to the post office (I emailed you about the package) and gym and grocery store and to pick up a few more gifts and now I'm sitting here waiting for the snow, sipping a Bloody Mary. God forbid I wrap a few gifts or star picking up around here. Nope. I just cleaned my diamond earrings, id that counts for anything, then peeked out the window to see if it's snowing yet. I'm actually wondering if maybe I should go out again before it starts.

Hope you're having a good day. I'm sure I'll be writing again soon.

Love you,
Barb

Blizzard Eve

Hey, Amanda.

Whoa. It's 9:50 pm. I just got home a few minutes ago. Seriously. I left this morning for school at 6:45 am and didn't get home until 9:30...but I made a huge dent in my Christmas shopping, your care package is ready to go first thing in the morning (on my way to the gym), and I am soooo enjoying this Brandy Alexander. It's my best one so far this season, even though the ingredients are all the same. (You know, by the way, if I could find some, I'd get you some of the double old fashions you are coveting. If I find anything remotely similar in my travels, in fact, I will hook you up.)

You sound in a great mood, with plans that suit your fancy. Yay. I'm not in a bad mood, but still am looking forward to a good night's sleep. Really, is there anything else so curative as a good night's sleep?...other than maybe a great cup of coffee, or bacon. Or a perfect cocktail. But a good night's sleep doesn't cost anything, contains no fat or calories, and doesn't cause heartburn. So there.

While I was shopping, the weather forecast changed--significantly. This morning in the wee hours as I was getting ready there was talk of a storm that could miss us but was predicted to be more probable just south of CT in Long Island, but not it seems that tomorrow night into Sunday we'll be getting 5-10 inches of snow, with blizzard-like wind. That area south is predicted to get 10-15 inches of true blizzard. Yikes. In light of that, I'm glad I really pushed myself to get as much done as possible, but wonder if I'll need to cancel my plans with M. Tomorrow over coffee I'll watch the latest weather reports to see if they've pinned down a start time. If it doesn't start until late, I'll be fine.

I suppose I should attempt to wrap a thing or two before this Brandy Alexander, and my next take, affect. Again, I'm so happy that you're in a good way, especially that you honored yourself about babysitting. Go you!

Love you,
Barb

The Wicked Witch is Dead

Ahhh. What a good night's sleep and a day with nothing planned will do for the psyche. I did have to deliver Jack's Culture Day food offering to the school, but that was the only commitment I had - a 15 minute one. You'll love this, coming from a Polish family with a gazillion traditional recipes: JJ came home and told me he had to bring a cultural dish that his family cooks at the holidays. I know this is all that PC crap about not being able to have a Christmas party - now we have to celebrate every single holiday from every single religion on the planet, thus resulting in something called "Culture Day". And I'm all for diversity, but really, here in Sumner, I'm thinking there won't be too many exotic dishes pouring in. I hemmed and hawed, especially since, not only are we not cultural, we don't really make anything special at the holidays. Finally, I threw together a huge 9x13 of homemade mac and cheese, covered it in crushed Ritz crackers, and called it good. There. That's my culture. Heinz 57 American, baby.

Need I say, not a bite was leftover.
Oh, and Merry Christmas.

Since I was up and out at that point, I decided to go get my nails done - or try, at least, thinking there would be no way I would get in. But, the place was dead and my guy was free right away. He plopped three unread People magazines in front of me and voila! an hour of total pampering. Not only that, he was bothered by my dry cuticles so he gave me a bottle of cuticle oil that is normally some ridiculous price, as a Christmas present. Cute, huh?!

As I was driving home, via the Starbucks drivethru for my eggnog latte, I was all excited to have the entire rest of the day to write and read at my computer. I hadn't blogged much this week because I didn't have much to say, but all of a sudden I felt like I could write for hours. Today was our last school day (I can't believe you guys go all the way to Wednesday - WTF?) so I knew JJ would be in the door and out again in seconds. I am supposed to go to this party tonight at a friend's house, someone I met in PTA last year. She comes to all of my stuff and I really do like her, but I'm not feeling much in the party-with-people-you-don't-know-well mood. I am far more inclined to put on my slippers, make a killer cocktail and wander over to S&T's, where everyone else in BLU will be, for dinner and drinking. However, good friend that I am, I will make an appearance at JA's party then beg off early. Not like my co-eds will be done partying by the time I get back.

I said no to the babysitting, if you haven't guessed. I said no and didn't feel guilty. Then I was totally vindicated this afternoon, when CC called me to ask is her kids could come over for a couple of hours while she went to get her hair cut. I didn't even make up a lie, or give her a reason, I just said, "No, I can't today." Big girl me! The thing is, like I told J, at that point I was just so pissed off that the only reason they ever call me is when they need a babysitter...that's not what I'm here for! They still haven't mentioned Christmas dinner...that's another story altogether and I won't even bore you with it.

This morning, T said he was going to invent a pill that would erase entire thoughts from your head. Like I could take one that would erase CC. I know I bitch about her all the time and it drives everyone nuts; I don't even know why she bugs me so intensely. I don't know what it is I can't let go of, why I spend so much energy on the two of them. They are who they are and I can't change that. I just get sooooo twisted up over the stupidest, most unimportant things with them. Grrr...

Anyway, so that's tonight's plan. Tomorrow JJ and his football team and going to see Avatar to celebrate the end of their 7-1 season, and the end of flag football for them :( Next year, it's school football - all tackle and serious. Or, as I like to say to embarrass them, because that is my job, "Big Boy Football." I kill myself. I think J and I will take the three hour opportunity to do a little last minute shopping in downtown S - you know, where all those cute little kitschy shops are - (we still haven't got C's ornament for this year - that's all) and maybe go to lunch together, or something utterly romantic and sweet like that. No plans tomorrow night, which is kind of odd.

Sunday is wide open too. J has this plan for Christmas Eve that we'll all decorate Christmas cookies together, so maybe I'll make the cookies Sunday. K & R and their boys will come for dinner that night, and K loves to decorate cookies as much as J does, so it should be fun. This is our second year doing Christmas Eve with the gang, but T&S have a family dinner this year so it will just be the eight of us. We started this "tradition" of having clam chowder, fresh crab and shrimp. K&R will do all the cooking, so I'll just kick back with a festive bev and enjoy the treat. Gosh, wish I had one of those glasses... :)

Between now and then, I really have nothing left that has to get done, besides normal household stuff. Like my hardwood floors are pretty sticky. And the bathrooms are pretty icky. But really, who wants to do that kind of stuff? I'd just as soon go spend some more money and buy more presents.

Anyway, I'm going to go read some now and try to write a little too. I hope you had a successful day shopping and that you did, indeed, "belly up" to the steak. How about we say, "treat yourself" instead? I'm quite certain you deserve it.

Love you,
A

Grouchy McGrouchster

Ugh. I'm grumpy tonight and I have no idea why. I've been abnormally tired the past few days but have not had any cold or flu symptoms, so I know I'm not sick. But I think I could sleep all day, even though I sleep like a rock at night. Weird. Finally, tonight, I'm just grouchy and want some peace and quiet. A friend of ours recently had knee surgery, so tonight we went over to visit and brought dinner. It wasn't busy or anything, but I'm really craving quiet.

Now that we're home, JJ is running around getting his shower, and wants to watch tv with me before bedtime. J is practicing his bagpipe which normally doesn't bother me in the slightest but is grating on me right now.

I need to go to bed and get out of my own way. More tomorrow when I'm not such a beotch.

xo
A

Calm before the Madness

Hey, A.

I don't envy you that battle between I'll feel guilty if I don't and how dare they even ask?! that's knocking around in your head. I wonder what you'll decide. Please share when you do.

Today is my last quiet night for a while, I'm afraid. Other than the gym, I stayed in tonight, had a low key dinner and made my lists, and tweaked my lists, and picked up a little, and am now winding down with my third glass of wine (but there's still half a bottle, so I'm not over pouring). Tomorrow the craziness begins, but--quite honestly--I'm looking forward to it. Some of it, anyway. This is what the next few days look like for me:

Thursday: faculty meeting and holiday get together at that restaurant you and I went to and met up with M. if I have energy after, I'll try to run an errand or two, maybe just a quick trip to the liquor store to restock my brandy, vodka, and Prosecco. Get home, get in jammies. Make treats.

Friday: pay day. Let the real shopping begin. Start after school at post office, mail your package, proceed to mall madness. Maybe belly up for a 10 dollar steak if I get enough done. Maybe go home and make more treats.

Saturday: sleep in, if I can. Have coffee, get my ducks in a row, go to gym, finish or continue shopping. Come home, wrap what I can, head to M's at 5 for dinner with her and her son. Brandy Alexander (in one of my fun double old fashioned glasses) with my name on it when I get home safely.

Sunday: gym, breakfast (brunch) with mimosas, finish making treats, wrap. Open to invitations, perhaps to inviting someone here. Or not.

Monday: after school meet friend from dentist's office that I've reconnected with lately at one of my (and W's) fave places for happy hour.

Tuesday and Wednesday: suffer through two more days of school with students who have been checked out for a week. Resist temptation to hooch up my coffee or stash nips in my car. ;-) Stick a fork in me. I'm done.

Then, vacation begins Thursday, Christmas Eve at last.

Wonder what your next few days look like. I am jealous that you are all shopped and wrapped, but pretty certain it won't be all peace and quiet for you either. In fact I hope it's not...There's just something about all the visiting and hurrying and stopping only when you really need to and can therefore really appreciate the peace and quiet that says Christmas. Don't you think?

Love you,

Barb

Family Stress...Again...

Hi there.

Just a quick note to say how much I love that glass! Sounds like you had a relaxing evening, as did I. J wasn't home until 10 and JJ was out playing since it's late start Wednesday tomorrow, so I had some Me time. I spent it writing cards and shopping on line, but I really wish I had plunked down on the couch with a blanket and watched tv. I did catch a Christmas movie with JJ before he went to bed, which was nice.

My plan is to finish all of my shopping tomorrow and be done with it. Then I have nothing left to do, really. The cards are done and will go in the mail in the morning and the gifts that I've already purchased are all wrapped. Yahoo!

Now I'm stressing over a request from my Bro to babysit on Friday night. The thing is, every part of me wants to say "Are you kidding?" After inviting your friends for dinner and asking for wine, and sleeping through Thanksgiving and not helping and not contributing and not showing up to the 12 Drinks and not even RSVPing to let the hostesses know? Now you need me for something? Seriously?

And then that little tiny do-the-right-thing part of me thinks, well, they have no money, they could probably use a night out and can't afford a sitter, it's Christmas and all...

...but then I'm supposed to go to this Girl's Night anyway, which I'm thinking of bagging since it would be one night we'd have this week without something one of us has to go to....

ARGH!!!!

I'm going to bed. Sleep won't solve my problem but at least I'll stop thinking about it for a few hours.

Love you!
A

Drowsy

Hey there, A.

I'm just home from school, a department meeting, and a nail appointment. As you know, I have to take Benadryl before I get my nails done, so I'm usually shot after my appointments, and today is no exception. I'm in my pajamas (lounge wear, I guess), sipping a cocktail from my favorite holiday glass (that'll help the drowsiness, no doubt!) while my halibut is coming to room temperature on the counter. At this point all I'm ready to do is eat and put my feet up, maybe write out a few more Christmas cards.

This time of year it seems like my days are either crazy--out Christmas shopping and running errands from place to place to place (like yesterday) stopping for a bite to eat I can't really afford-- or completely mellow, like tonight. Yes, I didn't get home until almost 5, but I am taking a night off from the malls. The way Christmas takes shape tonight is sitting by my tree and sipping from my Christmas cocktail glass. I have to say, I love nights like tonight...

Hope you are having a good day and that you have a chance to sit by the tree tonight too...with J, who loves it so much.

xo,
Barb

Awesome, Quiet Day

Hey, you.

Great to hear your voice today too. And although there are some pressing worries, I'm glad to hear your Christmas spirit even on the page.

I promised to read and write tonight but, of course, didn't sit down to do so until after 9:00. Soooo....here I am, at 10:30, more in the mood for bed than for writing. I did get some wrapping done, though, after about half an hour of frustration over trying to make a stupid save-the-date card with a photograph on it. I'm sure I just don't have the right software or know the right websites, but I just can't bear to turn it over to CC. Not because I don't want her to help, but because the way things have been going lately, they simply won't get done. So I'll try to figure it out later - I kind of picked up on your idea of waiting til after the beginning of the year so as not to mix with Christmas cards anyway.

Liked your list - here's mine:

House Decor: Done. Done, done, done. Thank God for The 12 Drinks.
Cards: Purchased. Stamps too. I better slow down.
Presents: Still have some shopping to do for J. He's impossible. Everyone else is done. Wahoo!
Treats: Bought peppermint bark and Almond Roca. J insisted. Oh, and I objected. Right. I did make a huge batch of my now-almost-famous carmel corn.
Mood: Awesome. Had most of the day to myself which I really needed. Coping with the M issue pretty well. So far.

Tomorrow school in the morning then I have the whole day to wrap and shop and catch up on CSI reruns. We have something going every single night this week so I plan to spend my days as quietly and as alone as possible!

Love you!
A

Mixed Nuts

Hey, A.

It has been a great weekend, including those moments I got to spend on the phone with you a little while ago. Yay. So much feels good: my mood, my holiday spirit, planning my parents' 50th anniversary party; so much is terribly wrong: my nephew and his eating disorder, my sister and her closeted relapse. I am trying to focus on the positive without ignoring the negative, yet without owning all that is wrong. I must say it is somewhat difficult for me to feel victory in keeping a safe distance from the ugliness. I'm not sure I realized, until these past few months, after what now feels like a long hiatus that has come to an abrupt stop, how much of my life and my energy I have spent making things right or trying, taking responsibility for things/people that were/are wrong/sick. Fortunately, I have good and wise friends like you and J who remind me that there are things that I cannot fix, that are not mine to fix--or sit and worry about and waste weekends doing so. I'll get there....Just like I'll get to Christmas. My progress?

Decorations? Done.
Tree? Up.
Cards? Not done. The 4 I told you about probably don't count.
Presents? A few are all set. Most are still not purchased, but on a very organized and precise list.
Treats? (this year's holiday treat is bark...white, dark, milk with all sorts of hidden surprises...you may find some in your package) In progress.
Mood? Good. That's probably most important.

Given the 7 day forecast, another snow day before vacation is unlikely, but we only have 8 school days to go. And the fun starts this week! Our faculty happy hour (at the restaurant we went when you last visited and met M there) is Thursday after our monthly faculty meeting. C and I have a girls' night dinner planned, and I'm actually looking forward to the shopping I still have to do. Before I know it, I'll be on vacation and Christmas will be here.

So glad you had fun at your annual 12 drinks progressive party and that festivities didn't take a toll today. I'll let you know exactly when I get your package out this week, but promise it will be THIS WEEK. Have fun wrapping, or party planning, or writing, or whatever you feel like tonight...

Love you!
Barb

Frazzled, Already

Hey, A.

Love your winter wonderland! Thanks for your visual reminder of the season, for making me sit down and take a deep breath and try to get back in good spirits, despite the stress I am feeling about grades. [Deep breath.] They'll get done. It's good that you went to the gym but it's also okay to sit and write for a minute and your enjoy your tree. They're mid-quarter progress reports, after all, certainly not the end of the world. Okay, I'm good now.

Yes, good to keep things in perspective. I just found out that I need to update my certification (from provisional to professional) to the tune of $375--by February 3. Have I mentioned that my parents' anniversary party is January 23?... which comes right after Christmas? ARG! But, you're right to notice that I, like you, will make it work, and I have a lot to feel fortunate about, including 2 living parents celebrating a 5oth anniversary and a job that I've been at for a dozen years and that I really have no chance of losing. So I'm good too. Broke, but good.

My weekend promises to be mellow. I'm not going anywhere, not having anyone here. Just me and my Christmas cards and my parents' invitations to address.

Can't wait to hear what you decide for your drink and appetizer for the 12 drinks celebration. If I don't hear from you before, I look forward to hearing all about it after. If I recall correctly, there are often interesting stories...

Love you!
Barb

Keepin' it in perspective

Hey! I was so glad to hear you got your first snow day today! I truly hope you spent it well (i.e. not working-at-home).

I had a snow day too. Inside my house. Long story very short, my furnace went out sometime yesterday morning. When we woke up this morning it was 53 in the house and continued to get colder until the repair guy got here. He fixed it - NOT - but then had to come back later this evening to fix it again. 350-right-before-Christmas-dollars later, I have heat again. Probably would have loved that laptop for the same price, but funny how being cold will put things in perspective.

I was very good about the whole thing in terms of complaining, I have to say. I was very quick to remember that there are people with no heat and no shelter, and to recognize that being able to come up with $350 at this time of the year is a true blessing. Still. Glad I can take off some of these sweaters now.

Nothing much else going on...doing some finish-up shopping on line tonight while J is at band practice and JJ is at football. Enjoying a glass of wine while waiting for Glee to be on (my new totally favorite show - even though it's over tonight). Tomorrow no plans, really...probably get my cards written. This Saturday is our annual 12 Drinks of Christmas party so maybe I'll plan my menu and do my shopping. Friday night we're going to a concert at a local church, which I'm really looking forward to. I went last year with my book club and was completely blown away - this choir is amazing. I raved about it so much that J and JJ will join us this year. Other than that, not much to report.

We do have actual snow expected on Friday and Saturday (not the kind that was on my fingertips all day). I'm excited - we've only had one 12 Drinks in the snow and it was so much fun. I'll have to send some pics of the lights in the neighborhood.

I'm too tired to think of anything else to write, so I'll sign off. Hoping you enjoyed your day and :) maybe have another one tomorrow!

Love,

A

Back from Boston

What a weekend! W and I had a fun, a whirlwind 24 hours here, and then I was off to Boston with C. We too had a great time, so happy with our decision to do the excursion on a Sunday-Monday this year since we got an earlier start than when we head up after school, and still we didn't get home last night until 10.

We stayed at the Back Bay Sheraton, where we checked in early. Once the car was parked and our bags were plopped on our respective full size beds, we started our girls' splurge with lunch at Atlantic Fish Company on Boylston. From there we went shopping, and eventually back to the room to rest before dinner. Originally we thought we might go to the North End for dinner, but I wasn't feeling well (I think I may have developed an allergy to shell fish...of all things!) so we stayed in the Back Bay for dinner, and rescheduled our Italian adventure for lunch Monday.

We were able to get a late check out so were not in any hurry in the morning. In fact, we rather enjoyed saying, hmmm, second period is ending; we're in our jammies. Eventually we headed to Starbucks in the lobby for OJ for mimosas, and at noon we were walking through the Pru Shops. When we checked out we headed to the North End--starving. After lunch (which was yummy!) we did some shopping there--the salumeria, a couple of wine shops, pastries from Modern Pastry. We stopped at the Bell and Hand (to get validation for the parking lot, of course!) and then drove to Coolidge Corner for a TJs stock-up. Afterward, W met us at a Vietnamese place so we could visit and have a snack before hitting the road.

I was tired today at school, but am currently encouraged by the weather forecast which calls for a storm to hit in the wee hours and will undoubtedly result in a delay or a snow day...How I'd love a whole day to finally get my tree done, but would settle for a delay for a little extra sleep.

Sounds like your weekend was good overall; sounds like tonight might be tough. How terribly, terribly sad. Good luck getting through it...

Love you,
Barb

PS Have you read Testimony by Anita Shreve? I just finished it. LOVED IT. Great book.

Welcome Home!

Hey, you.

Sorry I missed your call this weekend! I was thinking about you, though, hoping you were having an awesome visit with W and a great trip to Beantown. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Our weekend kind of started Thursday night with this FD dinner we had to go to. Actually, I had a choice; I could have let J go alone, but I figured it was a free dinner (night off from cooking too!) and kind of a grown up night out, so I went. It wasn't totally miserable, but it was pretty f'in boring. I was trying to get to know this new gal (wife of J's new Asst. Chief, whom he loves) and I did get a chance to chat with her, but there were other people there I had to talk to also and could have done without that. I wasn't being a very good wifey wife. I really try to watch my booze intake when I'm with that crowd so taking the edge off the boredom is about as good as it gets.

Friday I spent the day in the city with K, wax day you know. We had brunch at one of our fav places on Capitol Hill, spicy Bloody Marys included. Made a run through Nordstrom (to return that stupid red dress) on the way home. Had a great quiet evening at home with the three of us. Saturday we were up at the crack of dawn for a 7:15 football game, which would have been sooooo much more enjoyable had it been about 30 degrees warmer. At least it wasn't snowing or raining.

The rest of the day we were pretty much on the go, attending a community breakfast, running errands, finishing the decorating, then heading out for a FD retirement party that evening. I was kind of dreading it, but it turned out to be pretty fun. Since the food SUCKED, I didn't eat much, and my plan to not drink too much at FD functions kind of went sideways on me before I knew it. By the time we got home, I was pretty hammered, and we had houseguests so we continued to drink until midnight. All I ever ended up eating was peanuts after a small piece of chicken and a roll at dinner.

Needless to say, Sunday morning was not full of sunshine for me. We went out for breakfast with K & S, our friends from California who were just in town overnight for the Seahawks game. Of course, I ordered a massive omelet with everything in it, being that I was starving, and drank about a half gallon of coffee. God, I wish I could remember what a bad idea that is after a boozy night. I spent the rest of Sunday complaining about my stomachache and my headache, moving from couch to couch and generally being a pain in everyone's butt. I'm sure J loved me.

Today is the funeral for the police officers in Tacoma, so J won't be home until late. I thought about getting some Christmas shopping done, but got reading and writing and now it's noon; I'm still here. Don't think I'll go anywhere after all. It's flippin' freezing here, and although I'm sure it's nothing compared to what it is where you are, it's really atypical for us and I'm dying. It's bright and sunny, so it's very pretty, but I'm kind of the belief that if it's going to be this cold, it really ought to do something useful, like snow.

Anyway, I do have to make a short trip to the grocery store, and now that I'm all caught up on blogging, I should get that done before JJ gets home. Looking forward to hearing all about your weekend - hope you're enjoying your short week!
Love,
A

A Minute to Spare

Hey, it's me.

I tried to catch up the easy way yesterday, by calling, but had no luck. I'll be busy today getting lesson plans ready for Monday (my personal day/overnight adventure in Boston with C) and then getting ready here at home, moving beyond what I got done last Sunday and doing laundry. I'll try to write more later but in case I don't get around to it I wanted to say and let you know I haven't forgotten you.

Glad to hear you had a good Thanksgiving and a weekend that ended with a day in pajamas...Perfect!

Love,
Barb

Catching Up

Hey,

Very cool sparkly trees! Don't feel bad about not getting any decorating done; I didn't even get as far as the gym, which I actually meant to do. So kudos to you! And so glad to hear you had such a wonderful vacation. 52 people???? God, what on earth am I complaining about?

Our Thanksgiving was good. I'll start low and work my way up...

My parents are serious energy vampires, so by the time they left, I was exhausted. They aren't around much, but they seem to always be needing something. Right now. Drop what you're doing and take care of this. The other thing is that they make plans and change them constantly, with no regard for anyone else's plans. It gets a little (a lot) annoying. Of course, then there's the bro and CC; don't get me started.

Dinner on Thursday was ok - the food was good, but I was so resentful of them (Bro and CC) that I was probably just pissy. I wish I could stop expecting anything more of them than the usual half-hearted efforts to help. I know they don't have any money, which is fine, even if I can't afford it either. (On top of which, my parents invited friends but the only thing they pitched in for was the booze.) So I was all kinds of grumpy (inside) about having footed the bill for a dinner for 12, but I fully expected (silly me!) that Bro might contribute in some way, like doing the dishes or...not falling asleep on the couch right after dinner and staying there until it was time to go home. Unbelievable. Utterly.

HOWEVER!

As for time with my nuclear family, that was great. C, J, JJ and I spent a lot of time together doing fun stuff like shopping, attending the local tree lighting downtown, etc. We also got a chance to kick off our Christmas season with our traditional viewing of The Santa Clause. And it was just us, so we didn't have to crank the volume up over my dad's snoring, or get up in the middle of it to go do something else my parents wanted to do. Yahoo! We had a couple of quiet dinners together and since my folks left early Sunday morning, we had all day to hang around the house in our pjs, drinking coffee and watching tv. That was awesome!

Today I did a little more decorating, but not a ton. I was vegetative this morning, after having stayed up last night until almost 1:00, watching reruns of Criminal Minds. I have no idea why I didn't turn it off. So by 10:30 this morning I was still curled up on the couch in my blanket, nursing my coffee. Finally decided to shower and motivate, but by that time it was noon, which pretty much shot most of my day. Still, no regrets. I needed to unwind, I think.

Tomorrow lunch with KB and car service (oil, lube, etc.) then football in the afternoon. We have some friends coming to visit this weekend from California so I'm hoping to get all the decor done by then, but we'll see. Saturday JJ and E, his best bud, are going indoor rock climbing after football, for E's birthday. I want to go along and take pictures; E's mom is going to climb with them. Yeah, I'm not that adventurous, but it will be fun.

Nothing much going on other than that. I am sending you some pics on email from the weekend; one turned out so well I decided to do Christmas card pictures after all. Originally I was all weirded out about M not being in the picture, but you know what? It is what it is.

Anyway, my resolve to get to bed early tonight is already shot, as it's almost 11 now. I'm glad you have a fun weekend to look forward to, Boston AND chocolate cake...!

Love you,
A

All that Glitters...

Hey there, A.

Two days later and I haven't accomplished another single thing...for Christmas anyway. I have managed to get up and go to work, and I did go to the gym yesterday, and today somehow got roped into cleaning the prep room at school, but my tree is still in storage and other decorating is at a stand still. (Meanwhile, cleaning the prep room kept me at school longer than I needed or wanted to be, which made me miss my window of time at the gym. Oh well. I hate peer pressure!) Anyway, in all honesty, if I didn't put my tree up until after the weekend I'd be okay with that. In fact, maybe it would be fun to do the night I get back from Boston when I'll be more in the spirit! And I won't give up hope for a snow day either...

I'm glad you figured out the computer glitches and that you're back in business. Doesn't it suck being without a computer!?!? Now that you're in working order, I'm looking forward to hearing more about your holiday.

Love,

Barb