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Okay, enough of that.
I can't believe that there is only one week left in January already! This month went very fast. I hope February is a little bit slower. And healthier. And happier.
Dinner tonight: (I've decided that I will post dinner's from now on because it will at least keep me on my toes to think about it ahead of time.)
Make Your Own Quesadillas
Items to choose from: roast chicken, scallions, onions, bbq sauce, bacon, chiles, cheddar cheese, Mexican cheese (a mix), cilantro, and whatever else we can find lying around in the fridge/pantry
Tossed salad w/black beans and a cilantro/lime dressing
- Location:Office
- Mood:
exhausted - Music:The rattling of my charm bracelet as I type
I just can't seem to get myself out of this funk! I'm cranky and tired and just want to curl up in bed and not do anything. I guess it's a positive sign that I haven't done so.
I'm finally on the upside of the upper respiratory virus that I had. Just some fatigue and congestion leftover. Hopefully my singing won't send the congregation running tomorrow morning, and I can't not sing as pretty much all of the females on the worship team (except for Ladybug) have told me they won't be there tomorrow morning). Great.
In other, but related, news: Pastor has decided (well, we decided together) that we are going to have a meeting tomorrow night for the worship team. The elders put out the 2010 budget a few weeks ago that included a newly added Worship Leader line - and it's obviously not because they're going to all of a sudden start paying me for the job I've been doing for the past 9 1/2 years. I was out of town two Sundays ago and sick last Sunday, but apparently some members of the worship team are a little bit upset by this. Some because we're going to start paying somebody (*gasp*) and some because they've correctly figured out it means I'm no longer going to be in that position. Geez, people. It's time for some positive change. We have somebody already in place, he's a professional musician, very good at what he does and he's been subbing for me whenever I've been gone - it's not like it's any big surprise, really. However, the people at our church as a whole do not take to change well - that's really an understatement. Anyway, Pastor thinks by having this meeting we can hopefully answer questions and calm everyone down a little bit. I just hope they don't scare the new guy away before he's even been formally asked to take over the role as Worship Leader. And I hope I don't get too out of sorts myself. I'm just REALLY tired right now and would love it if everyone would just roll with it and let the leadership do its job without so much fuss.
Saw something very funny at Target last night: If you've been watching the American Idol auditions, you may be familiar with the "Pants on the Ground" audition.
Well, I was standing in line at the cashier and looked up and over across to another line when the young man standing there nearly lost his trousers! Let's just say that both the cashier standing in front of him, myself, and I'm sure anyone else who saw were struggling to control our laughter. "Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground!"
Dinner tonight: Minestrone with a nice garlic bread. Simple, warm, yummy. I haven't made the minestrone since last winter. Shame on me.
Some sad news: Marine Guy (that's what I'll call him - he is the youth leader at our church) is back in the hospital. He had a brain tumor several years ago and had been pretty much in good health until fall 08. He had to go through a few rounds of chemo since last fall, but seemed to be doing great - he had just finished his last round recently. I'm not sure of the details, since I spoke with him at church on Sunday and he seemed fine, but apparently he was taken to the ER last night and has swelling on his brain and is having some neurological symptoms. They're waiting on test results now. He's got a wife and three young children. Please pray for him and his family.
Man, I'm just a ray of sunshine today, aren't I?
Let's see... For those of you who either went to or know Covenant College: There is a family at our church whose daughter is a finalist for some sort of artist/musician scholarship at Covenant. She REALLY wants to go to school there. I was talking to the mom and she was telling me all about this Christian college her daughter wanted to go to and where it was and I asked the name and when she told me I about bust out laughing. How does someone from Arizona find out about a small Christian college on Lookout Mountain, TN? Crazy, eh?
Things left to do: laundry (is that EVER really done?), clean out fridge, pick up/drop off dry cleaning, physical therapy, pack for trip, unload SD card so I have room for Florida pics, go to Staples, and a few other things that I'm certain I'm forgetting.
- Mood:
tired
Today is the last day of school before Christmas break. So the kiddos can hopefully take a break from all their studies.
Yesterday was a complete wasted day as I woke up dizzy and the dizzy spell lasted pretty much all day. :P I hate it when that happens. The timing couldn't have been worse...
... because today I am driving down to Tucson to pick up one of my dearest friends (we met in Utah, she lives in Texas, and is here on a business trip)! (Thankfully, I woke up this morning and am mostly well.) I was a little concerned as sometimes when I get these stupid migraine-related spells they can last more than just one day. To add to the crappiness that was yesterday, Molly had some *ahem* issues that led me to taking her to the vet. Sonofgeek had to drive us, needless today. She has the stinkin' giardia - AGAIN! We're not sure how she got it this time, but she's on meds again and when Hubby took her out this morning he said that she already seemed a bit better. So, maybe we caught it in it's early stages and it will be easier to get it out of her system this time.
The day didn't end there. Ladybug had an orthodontist appointment, fully expecting to have her braces removed. Didn't happen. She has to go back in another three weeks. Bummer. In the midst of all of this, I needed to get my house in order because not only was DF (Dear Friend) coming to visit (she wouldn't care if my house was in a shambles), but I'm hosting the Secret Sisters breakfast here on Saturday - 21 women total. The kiddos were WONDERFUL. They did 99% of the cleaning yesterday, on top of studying for their finals, on top of Sonofgeek driving us around to the various places we had to go. And *wait for it* THEY DIDN'T COMPLAIN! My teenagers rock! : )
All I have to do this morning is make up the guest room bed (Sonofgeek sleeps in there normally - long story), do some general picking up of the living room, do a quick once-over in the kitchen, and take a carload over to Goodwill (that was in my car yesterday, but I never was able to drive). Heck, if I get off this computer I might even be able to get a little Christmas shopping done before I head down to Tucson.
- Location:Somewhere
- Mood:
excited
Ladybug's piano teacher's boyfriend called me while I was shopping at Cost Plus on Monday afternoon. VERY odd, as he shouldn't have my cell phone number and we only talk to say "hello" when I drop Ladybug off at her lessons. Turns out her teacher was having a very sudden, severe headache and was in the hospital! They were testing her for meningitis!! I am assuming that it turned out to be negative because I got an email from her today that she missed two days of work, she's trying to keep up with her responsibilities as best she can, and that she's seeing a neurologist soon. Plus, I guess she had another headache yesterday. Pray for her. I don't have any more details, but that kind of stuff sounds really scary.
Sonofgeek is going crazy with college applications and the ever-heavy schoolwork load. However, he already got a letter of acceptance from NAU (Northern Arizona University) and a notification that he has a presidential scholarship to the school, should he choose to attend there. Pretty awesome! Unfortunately, it was one of the schools low on his list because they don't really offer much in the areas he's interested in. He's looking at them a little closer now, though.
My PT is going well. I have a follow-up visit with the orthopedist tomorrow morning to see what he thinks of my progress and if I need more than just the two vists I have left (probably, but I'm guessing not too many more).
Trying to get into the swing of Christmas shopping and all that... not quite there yet. BTW, Oropher, I would LOVE some ideas for the Munchkin this year. When are you online to chat these days, with all of your schooling? I'm so proud of you!
Off to get Ladybug to CrossWays!
- Mood: content
To do list for this "week" ("week" is in quotation marks because it's really only three days before Thanksgiving, and technically those are really the days I'm referring to):
* Meet with Pastor to plan December's music - check, done today
* Physical therapy, twice - check, visit one taken care of today
* Finish laundry that didn't get finished over the weekend
* Get Ladybug to two choir concerts, one tonight and one tomorrow night
* Attend tonight's concert
* Purchase Hubby's birthday card (yes, I'm running WAY behind - but at least I already got his BD gift!)
* Complete my Bible study before Monday's leader's meeting
* Purchase 20 lb. turkey for Thanksgiving - check, done yesterday
* Purchase rest of Thanksgiving carbo-feast
* Help Sonofgeek figure out what's missing from one of his college apps.
* Pick up/drop off dry cleaning
* Get hair cut
* Get house cleaned up
* Call dog trainer
* Call Red (to make SURE he and his family will be here for Thanksgiving!)
I'm sure there are other things that I'm supposed to get done, but have already forgotten. Oh, well. And, that's just the list BEFORE Thursday. The list gets a bit longer after that.
Seriously, I need a nap. Despite all the busyness, I am very much looking forward to spending the day with my family on Thursday. Even though I do a lot of cooking and it's physically tiring, I find it to be a very relaxing and enjoyable way to spend the day - enjoying the smells and sounds, and just hanging out with everyone. It will be really fun to see how Molly gets along with my three nephews!
Speaking of which, I don't think I ever posted pics of her. Here she is: 
She has a beautiful face, no? 
"I do not like the cone of shame."
I know. I shouldn't have taken this picture. I am a very bad person. But she was so cute. (Taken after her spaying.) 
Just a funny picture, I thought. I love her ears!! 
"I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille!"
Okay, enough. Sorry about that. She is a handful, but she is adorable!
Chances are slim I will be posting before Thursday, so...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
- Location:My messy pink office which really needs to be cleaned!
- Mood: grateful
- Music:The sound of Molly destroying something in the other room : 0
Quick update on what's been going on since then:
* Ladybug had her 15th birthday October 9th. She and I spent it at Disneyland. We had a GREAT time. 'nuf said.
* I had my shoulder surgery (finally) on October 26th. All went well; actually, bettter than well. Turns out I didn't have a torn rotator cuff as the doctors had thought. I "just" had a really nasty bone spur. They fixed it. Other than a month or so of physical therapy and the same amount of time that it will take for the healing from the surgery itself, I should be feeling great by Christmas!
* Sonofgeek is stressing over school work and college, etc. He's got a severe case of senioritis. He's in denial about it, but he's definitely got it. To quote him, "I just don't care anymore." Yep. That sounds about right. But, he's hanging in there. Pray for him. The teachers at his school show no mercy, and he's seriously overloaded with the classes he's taking.
* Hubby is ... fine. Thank You, Lord, for that! Work is going well and his health is good. Lord willing, it will stay that way for a long while.
* Molly. STILL not housetrained and driving us all batty. But, she is so stinkin' adorable we can't help but love her. I will be calling a recommended professional trainer probably tomorrow. Time to call in the cavalry, I'm afraid.
What's up now? Getting ready for Thanksgiving. As always, the big day is at our house, so I've got to do my shopping this weekend. I can't believe it's that time already. I am going to have to do some serious cleaning out of the fridge to make room for a turkey. THAT'S always fun! (I have a pretty small refrigerator.) We'll get up early to get the turkey going and the kids and I will watch the Macy's parade. Then later in the afternoon my brother and his family will come over for the day and we'll just eat 'til some of us (not me, thankyouverymuch) are overstuffed and then just hang out. On the menu (it's pretty much exactly the same every year): Turkey (seasoned under the skin with fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic mixed with olive oil; the same mixture is rubbed on the outside of the bird as well - YUM!!), cornbread, sage and onion stuffing (I know, Oropher, you are wrinkling your nose as you read this), homemade cranberry sauce, homemade gravy, homemade mashed potatoes, egg noodles (I make them because my brother HATES potatoes), and brussels sprouts with pancetta, onion and balsamic vinegar. My SIL will usually bring another green veggie as well. It's a seriously carb-heavy meal. But, that's what my family wants for the big day. The funny thing is that nobody is really big on the whole pie thing, so I am never sure what to make for dessert. I'm open to ideas!
Day after: I avoid Black Friday like the plague. Sonofgeek is going to go out with his buddies and stake out Fry's Electronics overnight, I think. The rest of us are going to be putting up our Christmas decorations. This should be interesting with a beagle puppy running around
- Mood:
busy
Still busy, still feeling overwhelmed, but as do all seasons of our lives, I know that this will pass eventually. And then something else will come along - that's why they're called seasons, right?
Molly is still not housebroken and it is frustrating me to no end. She's nearly 6 months old now! Granted, she was in a pet store until she was 4 months old, so she's a little behind the curve, but it's really getting old. We may have to get some outside help with this one. Other than that, though, she is doing great. And, much like every other pet we've had, she has a really fun and unique personality. If we can just get her to understand that peeing OUTSIDE is the goal!
Ladybug had her first choir concert this week. They were fantastic! I felt terrible for her, however, as she managed to get a sore throat a couple of days before so she wasn't feeling so great. The trooper muddled through, but did have a little bit of a coughing fit in the middle of one of the songs : P Thankfully, the doctor says it's most likely just allergies and possibly a mild virus, but nothing serious - no antibiotics required.
Let's see, what else is going on.... Sonofgeek has officially sent in a few of his college applications. *gasp* I still think it's not possible that I am old enough to have a son going off to college. Denial. It's a wonderful thing. Oh, and he has a car now - sort of. It's actually Hubby's Honda. Hubby got a new car finally - a used Mercedes! Crazy. I still can't believe he bought the thing, but it's one of the low end models and got a fantastic deal on it. So, now Sonofgeek and Ladybug are getting themselves to and from school and to and from youth group. It's at once freeing and freaky!
Oh, and I have two very exciting things coming up in the next week that I am SO looking forward to: On Sunday, the whole family is going to Star Wars in Concert (I know, it's so geeky of us - but we can't wait!!!!) and next Friday, which is Ladybug's 15th birthday, she and I are flying to California and spending the day at Disneyland. We did the same thing on my birthday in April and we had a blast, so we decided to do a repeat performance for hers. Yay! : D .... And I have a scrapbooking retreat coming up soon, too, so I guess I have three exciting things to look forward to soon. Then, I finally have my shoulder surgery on October 29th. Lord willing, it will be a quick recovery and I'll only have to be in the shoulder sling for a week or less - the doctor says it's possible, depending upon what they find once they get inside and see what's what. I'm praying : )
Speaking of praying... please pray for my half-brother J. I just found out a few days ago that he's had a massive heart attack and had to have an emergency quadruple bypass. The last I heard he was stable, but in ICU.
Oropher and Suz - I think we need to seriously see if we can plan another Disney trip together. Getting together every five years just doesn't cut it for me. I miss you all too much.
- Location:Where else?
- Mood: busy
- Music:The a/c and Molly's odd moaning noise that she makes when she's sleeping
CBS (Community Bible Study) started back up and since I've changed roles from being a Core Group leader to being the assistant to the Coordinator, my job at the beginning of the year has become significantly heavier. But, at least we've gotten all the prep stuff done and the first day out of the way, so at least my CBS stuff should be relatively low-maintenance from here on out (until the end of the year anyway).
Our women's Bible study at church also started up, and I'm facilitating the daytime session. Plus, there have just been a bunch of things going on at home - lots of doctors visits (allergist, neurologist, pulmonologist, podiatrist, orthodontist, MRI - don't worry, not all my appointments), keeping up with Molly (not just the regular puppy stuff, but we had her spayed this week as well), and I ended up with a migraine this week (four days - the migraine was only about a day, but I had all four days with dizziness this time and one of the days was really bad).
It's been pretty stressful around here, so that's why I haven't posted. Thankfully, my migrain/dizziness seems to be gone now. CBS and the church Bible study are off and running, and Sonofgeek is feeling just fine. Molly is not housetrained, but hey I can only hope for so much at once, right? ; )
Good news: I saw the pulmonologist yesterday and he gave me the all-clear to have my shoulder surgery, so I am going to call the orthopedist as soon as they're open and get that scheduled. Bad news: I got an email from my mom this morning. She was supposed to come out for Thanksgiving this year, but now she says she can't. : (
On my to-do list today: Get my hair cut, get the laundry done, clear off my desk (it WOULD be nice to see the surface), call the surgeon, and mail the Munchkin's BD card/gift (Oropher, please tell her I'm sorry she's going to be getting it late!).
Dinner tonight: It will just be me, Sonofgeek and Hubby. Ladybug is spending the night at a friend's house. Not sure yet, but I'm thinking maybe curry.
One final thought - I need a vacation!! If we could afford it, Oropher, I would so be coming for a visit right about now. At least Ladybug and I have her BD trip to Disneyland to look forward to - just an overnighter, but it will be fun.
- Location:Office
- Mood: tired
- Music:The noise inside my head - too much going on!
From Oropher, via someone I don't know (at least I don't think I know her - can't tell from all the coded LJ names)... BTW, Oropher, I'm not certain I would have guessed correctly : ( Though, I definitely wouldn't have picked #2 as the lie - it just sounds too much like something that would happen on a date in south Florida. Okay, here goes:
Post three unusual facts about yourself, two of them are true, one isn't. Can you guess the lie?
1. I once worked as a food demo girl - cooking sausages on an electric skillet in the middle of Albertsons.
2. I have read the entire Agatha Christie series.
3. I fell off the stage at church in the middle of the Mothers Day service, and managed to bloody my knee and break my toe in the process. But, I looked beautiful doing it!
Drama update: Sonofgeek doing better, but had to go on another round of antibiotics. Ladybug doing better, save the teenage attitude. Hubby, thankfully no drama there. Molly, still working on the housetraining. She's getting there, but not as quickly as I'd like. She's also trying to chew up everything in the house so I'm getting plenty of exercise! OH, and she's finding all sorts of things - yesterday she found a plastic wall anchor, a penny, something I didn't recognize, and this morning she found another unrecognizable something (it honestly was a little disturbing because I REALLY couldn't tell what it was - other than it definitely wasn't a bug). Me, other than my shoulder hurting, I'm actually doing just fine : ) I've almost reached the 10 pound mark - that is, lost 10 pounds. On the plus side - yay, I've lost almost 10 pounds! On the down side - it's taking FOREVER. I think the thyroid meds are starting to kick in finally and having the puppy is keeping me more active as well. Between the two, I can definitely see a difference.
On the docket for today: Chase Molly, pick up after Molly, scold Molly, do laundry, try to do some cleaning (ha!), and make some phone calls. Kiddos are out tonight, if they don't have too much homework.
I'm hungry. I think I'm going to eat my breakfast now.
- Location:Flamingo Central
- Mood:
hungry - Music:a/c - it's supposed to be 111* today
When we got Molly we were told that she had had a case of giardia, but had been treated and cleared. We just had to take her to the vet for another check to be 100% certain. If she came back with the parasite, then the store pays for the treatment. Okay, no problem. So, we took her to the vet (the vet we HAD to take her to in order to start up the guarantee) and had the test done. They called us the next day and said she was all clear. Great! Well, she had had some sporadic episodes of diarrhea with blood and I was getting a little bit concerned, so I called our own vet and brought her in to see him on Friday morning. He ran the same test the other vet ran, plus another test the other vet DIDN'T run. She still has the giardia! CRAP. So she's on meds. She's fine otherwise, thankfully. $200 for that unexpected trip. I called Hubby to let him know what was going on and he informs me that he got his a/c fixed - $600. (Did I forget to mention that he came home on Thursday night and the a/c in his car had bit the dust?)
After I got her home, later in the afternoon, I picked the kiddos up from school. Sonofgeek was to have his follow up appointment with the doctor due to his ER visit earlier in the week. Ladybug's ear had been ringing since Wednesday night and was hurting a lot (she had been the doc on Tuesday with a sinus infection and was on antibiotics already). So I took them both to the doc and hoped that I could get Ladybug seen as well. Thankfully we were. This is what we found out:
Sonofgeek's illness could be giardia from the puppy. It still gets treated the same as the adenitis, so no biggie; as long as we can fully get rid of it. Also, short of doing a stool test (sorry to be so graphic) we don't know for certain that's what it is. He's definitely doing better, though.
Ladybug's ear looked TERRIBLE. I know because the doc let me have a peek. : / She switched antibiotics and hopefully will be on the mend soon. Now if the doctor only had a pill for attitude adjustments.... ; )
- Mood:overwhelmed
Great. Nothing like holding back tears on your way out of the doctor's office. At least I didn't cry in front of him like I did the last time I was there. This doctor must think I am a nut job.
- Mood:
crappy
Sonofgeek wasn't feeling too well over the weekend. So much so that by Monday I made him stay home from school. I thought he just had a case of the stomach flu. I called the doctor to see if there was anything I could give him to help him feel better (because what we'd been giving him wasn't working very well) and to find out if it was possible that the medicine she had given him last week could possibly be the cause of his intestinal nastiness. No on both counts. She wanted us to come in for an appointment. So, I brought him in and she asked lots of questions and did all the doctorly (like that word?) things. Finally, she made him lie down on the table and started prodding his abdomen. Poor guy about went through the roof! This is the kid who is his father's son - I had to MAKE him stay home from school. He was in excruciating pain!! She had him sit up, turned to me and said, "You need to take him over to the ER." What?!!! She suspected that he either had some sort of colitis or appendicitis brewing. So, SOG and I spent five hours sitting in the ER on Monday. SOG very much enjoyed the morphine, if only for a short while. Thankfully, he did not have appendicitis. He had mesenteric adenetis. Very painful, but nothing to worry about. Oh, and the day didn't end there.... I called the high school to leave a message with Ladybug to take the bus home. She, thankfully, was able to get a ride home from a friend's dad because she couldn't get to the bus on time (long story). SOG and I get home from the hospital, I grab Molly to take her to her vet appointment (THAT was interesting doing alone!), come home from the vet to find that Ladybug has come home from school with a sore throat and fever! So, SOG went back to school on Tuesday, but Ladybug had to stay home and get to the doctor herself. She had a pretty nasty sinus infection going on and ended up home for two days. They are both back at school today, thankfully.
My shoulder is killing me - probably from throwing toys for Molly and walking her. I am very happy that she is currently passed out on the floor of my office. I think I played with her enough this morning that I wore her out. She is very cute, but man I was 10 years younger the last time I had a puppy! This is wearing me out. (Oh! She just made the cutest noise. She makes these really cute groany type noises when she sleeps. Adorable.)
I see the pulmonologist today - yay! I realize that sounds really weird. But, I'm hoping that he gives me the green light to go ahead with my surgery. I'd like to get this done and over with as soon as possible.
Lastly, a couple of prayer requests: I told you about Mentorlady who is dealing with cancer. She had a procedure done the day before yesterday. It involved some complicated things I don't understand, but she had some type of surgical chemo treatment done on her liver and is now home, but in some serious pain. She had not been expecting the procedure to be so painful. Also, she was not expecting to have to have the treatment more than once, but has now been told she will have to go through this again in about three months. Please pray for her - for healing, for comfort, for peace, for all those good things. Also, we had a couple in our church who had their home broken into yesterday. The thieves stole a lot of stuff, including important papers - social security cards, birth certificates, etc. Pray that they catch the thieves and that they can stop the identify theft side of things before it gets too far.
I really hope next week goes better...
- Mood:
crazy
She went all gaga over a shiba inu, which I have to admit WAS adorable. So, we came home and did some research. Actually, the shiba looked even better suited to our family and lifestyle than the beagle . Until I did some more research. We have a budgie. Shibas are bred to hunt small animals. Not a good combination. Oh, and the price range on the shibas were over $1500. So, no shiba inu for us. Too bad, though.
So, on tomorrow's docket: puppy-proof the house, pick up puppy "accessories" (crate/kennel, leash, toys, food, etc.), call the vet. That is, as long as the beagle is still available when I get there!
Tonight: open house at the high school. Can you just sense my anticipation? Actually, I think I'm going to be a bad mother and just attend the Senior portion of the evening - get the info about graduation, scholarship stuff, and all things senior-related. I've gone to pretty much every open house since the kids have been in school and it's the same every year. We've never received any information that was truly vital.
My soapbox for the week: I am soooo tired of people telling me that I should ... use aluminum bottles/buy organic/homeschool my children/get my dog from a rescue shelter/use only "green" products, etc. It seems like so many people these days are so paranoid about pretty much everything and anything that no matter what I do, I feel like I ought to somehow be doing something different or at least feel guilty about how I'm doing it. Not anymore. My kids go to public school. We use plastic bottles when we're on the go. I buy organic when I find it necessary, but not always - because it's freakin' expensive. And my dog - yep. We're buying her from a pet shop. (One that guarantees they do not go through puppy mills, for those of you who are concerned about that.) The worst part about all of this, for me, is that I'm getting this message subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) from mostly my fellow Christians - none of you who read my blog, btw. Just needed to get that off my chest.
Lastly, please pray for my neighbors - J&J. The husband just lost his mother a few days ago. She died of mesothelioma. Apparently, it wasn't a very long time between her diagnosis and her death.
- Location:Pretty in Pink
- Mood: grateful
- Music:It's summer in Arizona - the a/c, of course!
Another hilarious video courteous of Rhett and Link, "In the 80s"... Enjoy!
- Mood: amused
Hubby: Can I read the paper?
Me: Um. Okay. Why do you keep asking my permission for stuff?
Hubby: Well if I read the paper it's going to have my germs and stuff all over it.
Me: Okaaay.
Well, at least he cares, and he's not one of those guys who turns into a four-year-old when he gets sick (which is about once every five years).
So, today the kids and I went to Joe's Farm Grill for lunch. It's a place that was featured on the Food Network's "Diner's, Drive In's, and Dive's" (I think I put those in the right order.) I've had so many friends tell me about this place, even before it was on the show, and we finally tried it out. Really good food, kind of pricey, but did I mention really good food? When Hubby gets better, I'll drive him out there for a taste. We didn't try anything adventurous today, but maybe the next time out. Today I had the fried shrimp with coleslaw and sweet potato fries. The shrimp was to die for - I wish I knew where they brought it in from because it was so good and fresh. The batter was really different from anything I've seen used with shrimp before - it had herbs in it, including dill. Unusual, but really tasty. Plus, the cocktail sauce was freshly made and again, really tasty. Ladybug went really plain and just had chicken tenders - but even those were really good if you tried it with Joe's own barbecue sauce. Sonofgeek had a buffalo chicken sandwich, which I did NOT try (don't like bleu cheese), but he thought was really good. Next time we're going to try one of their interesting pizzas or one of the barbecue items - they all looked good. The interesting thing about Joe's is that it's in a community called Agritopia and all of the food they use is pretty much grown right there on the property. If you want to read more about them, you can go to their website: www. joesfarmgrill.com
Odd quote of the week, from Sonofgeek: (Here is the context of the quote, not that it will help - he doesn't like Crocs, but we were in the mall and Ladybug was talking about needing closed toed shoes for biology lab, but only wanting to wear sandals, when we happened by the Crocs kiosk.)
"Crocs are sandalicious."
- Location:Flamingo Central
- Mood: amused
- Music:a/c at full blast
The little black bugs? WEEVILS! UGH!! The Orkin guy was really nice and told me that we had been doing all the right things, but that it takes usually 3-4 "rounds" with the suckers to be completely rid of them. Plus, I'm going to have to go back to storing things like I did when we lived in a humid climate - i.e., everything in Tupperware again. The worst part is that I emptied our not-so-small pantry by myself (not that big of a deal, except for the shoulder pain) and now my kitchen counters are covered in stuff, and I can't carry out the garbage because it is too heavy. So, I'm stuck until the kiddos get home. Hopefully, they don't have too much homework tonight and can help me get some of this sorted out. Hubby wants to keep the pantry completely empty for a few days and store the uninfested (we hope!) food on the dining room table until we know for certain that the pantry is clear. I'm going to rip out the shelf liners and bleach the whole darn thing at this point! I hope this is our last round with the critters. I really hate bugs.
- Mood:
aggravated
Update on my health issues: Saw my endocrinologist yesterday and she says my thyroid ultrasound looked good and I don't have to have another until next year. Praise God! The only thing she did was adjust my synthroid. Maybe that will boost my metabolism a bit. I could sure use the help!! My energy is nearly back to normal levels now, except now that the kiddos are back to school there's no more sleeping in! My breathing is pretty good, but still not as it should be. I see the pulmonologist again in a few weeks for testing for asthma or whatever, plus he has to give me the official go ahead for my shoulder surgery. Of course, now that I am moving around again, my shoulder is hurting again. Geez. At least I can cook and do the laundry without wheezing! : ) Enough of that...
The kids started school this week and all seems to be going pretty well. Sonofgeek is still trying to sort out the problem with not getting into orchestra. Apparently Colonel (the orchestra director) is working with the counselor to see if they can work it out so that SOG can get into the beginning orchestra as a co-conductor! It's a little odd, though, as really all SOG wants to do is PLAY his instrument, not teach other kids how to do so. Plus, he seems to be enjoying the idea of the AP psychology class. I have a feeling at the end of all this, he'll probably just end up quitting cello *insert sad face here* He really enjoys playing, but without an orchestra to play in, he'll lose his skill pretty quickly; and because of his school load, he doesn't really have the time to join a community orchestra.
Ladybug is adjusting to high school well. Not terribly surprising. She's very pragmatic, that one. Her schedule got messed up, too. She was supposed to get into a drawing class, but has ended up taking guitar. It worked out well as she is VERY enthusiastic about it! Hubby bought me a guitar that's been sitting in my office, unplayed, for about two years now so we didn't even have to purchase a new instrument.
Today... I really needed to get stuff done around here, so I coaxed Hubby into letting the kiddos drive his car to school and he took mine to work. I am without wheels. It's a little weird, but it's forcing me to get things accomplished. (I know, like sitting at my computer writing on LJ?) I've been behind on my Bible in 90 Days challenge, but have caught up through the book of Isaiah; plus, I started laundry, printed business cards for my Bible study coordinator, and caught up on emails I needed to attend to - and it's only 9:15 am! Hey, that's a big deal for me. What still needs to be done today: finish laundry, dust and vacuum (don't know if I'll do the vacuuming, depends upon if my shoulder can deal), clean up the kitchen (it's disgusting at the moment - I haven't paid it much attention for nearly a month), call Orkin (I am on round three of weird small black bugs in my pantry that we can't seem to get rid of), and clean up the master suite (again, it really hasn't had any attention paid to it since I've been sick). That's probably more stuff than my body is ready to handle in one day, but it's at least a goal. If I can get at least a third of it done, I'll be content. I can work on the rest of it tomorrow.
It's just Hubby and I tonight as the kiddos have CrossWays. Hmmm. Maybe we'll go out for dinner?
- Mood: accomplished
- Music:Someone mowing their lawn... I need better music
I'm STILL sick, but seem to finally be getting somewhat better. I'm on my way to a pulmonologist in a few minutes to get his two cents on all of this.
Sonofgeek didn't get into orchestra : ( He is taking AP psychology instead. ????? I guess we'll see how THAT goes.
Ladybug will get her schedule on Thursday and has all-day freshman orientation on Friday.
Hubby and I are going to the bank tomorrow morning to sign the closing papers for our refi on the house.
I will officially have TWO highschoolers on Monday.
I am exhausted, but have done not much of anything.
Oh. And Hubby felt so bad that I've been doing all this sitting around on my duff for going on three weeks now that he went and bought me seasons 1 and 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. : D I'd rather have energy, but at least I've got something interesting to watch now.
On the plus side - we are finally getting our summer storms! Yay!! Rain, thunder, lightning - the works : ) Don't like humidity when it's already 100+ degrees outside, but it's nice to have the rain.
- Mood: grumpy
I am doing better - Ladybug and I went to lunch today. We went to Baja Fresh. Not very exciting, but as I'm not exactly running a marathon right now, my appetite isn't very big. But the BF Baja Tacos are quite good. Then we trudged (I say "trudge" because of my verrry slow pace) around Ulta for a little bit before heading back home. BTW, Oropher, Ladybug and I have decided that "it's" your fault. ; ) We are getting hooked on Urban Decay makeup - well, at least the eye makeup. I even got the mascara. Love it!
In other crazy post-vacation news: We, gratefully, had no problems driving to and from California in my Passat. However, when we got home Hubby, Sonofgeek and I all noticed a very strange grindy noise coming from my car. Both Hubby and SOG thought it was the steering. Hubby was alarmed enough to volunteer to take it in to the dealership and have them check it out. Good thing he did. Apparently, the steering rack was cracked!! Praise the Lord we didn't have this problem while driving on the highway! At any rate, thankfully it's under warranty and car rental coverage is also included. So, SOG has had wheels all week (Hubby's car) and Hubby's been driving the rental. With me being sick, it's actually worked out well. We were hoping to have the car back yesterday, but the parts didn't come in. Maybe by the end of the week?
The kids go back to school on the 27th. They pick up their schedules next week. Pray for SOG - he's still not certain about whether he's going to be able to get into orchestra this year because of the conflict with his Chinese 2 class. It would really suck if it doesn't work out, but if it doesn't, pray that he can get into another good class that he can enjoy.
I sure hope this is the end of the craziness for a while. Don't know when my surgery will be rescheduled, but it's not going to be at least until August at this point (because of all the meds I've been on). I hope my next post will be not only shorter, but less dramatic ...
- Mood:
bored - Music:Silence - the Lanners have gone to lunch
