Sunday, November 18, 2007

A Day of Rest?

I worked until one yesterday, then went shopping. I got home around four and did very little after. Oh, I had plenty to do, but I was definitely motivationaly challenged.

But I've been up since four this morning. I've done five loads of laundry, cleaned house, watched a movie, made peanut butter crackers dipped in chocolate, cleaned the kitchen, been to Walmart, made meatballs, cleaned the kitchen, made chili seasoning packages, and cleaned the kitchen.

I've got to make a sauce for the meatballs and make a little something for Christmas gifts...something that has to brew for about a month...before I go to bed tonight.

My schedule for the rest of the week is:

Monday--work 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., run to Kroger, make photos for table decorations, frame pictures.

Tuesday--work 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., make peanut butter pies, clean litter box, pack car.

Wednesday--work 7 a.m to 3:30 p.m., drive to Birmingham, make squash casserole, make punch

Thursday--roast turkey breast, make sweet potato casserole, make pea salad, make ambrosia, set table, EAT, coma.

Friday--decorate church fellowship hall, chop & peel veggies, make sweet and sour sauce, make centerpieces, make dip, cook chili for supper, hem slacks.

Saturday--get food to church, finish set up, get Mom to salon and dressed, party from 2 til 4, clean up church fellowship hall, crash and burn.

Sunday--laundry, rest, drive home.

It doesn't seem too overwhelming when write it down. I'll try my best to stick to my schedule.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Let's be catty



I LOVE Wednesdays! I get my ultimate guilty pleasure, America's Next Top Model, Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, Life, and Project Runway. It's not the best season of ANTM...but I still watch because I get to see just a few minutes of Nigel Barker each week and that man is screamin' sexy. I watch as much Gordon Ramsey as possible...Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, and Kitchen Nightmares on Fox and on BBC America. I don't know why, but I love this guy. I can't define my attraction to Life, except that it reminds me of Law & Order CI. Please note that Nigel, Gordon, and Damien are all Brits...OMG! I'm an Anglophile!

The new season of Project Runway began last night and was great! First, the guy who makes costumes for drag queens reminds me of someone I know...he is a doppelganger of Mike. Last night when he said "Hal-lay-loo-yah" I almost fell off of the sofa. And just for the record, I won't learn names for a few weeks, but I really like the Israeli guy...fabulous stuff and hate the crazy little queen with the goofy do.

It all makes the midweek so much brighter!

Friday, November 9, 2007

A terrible night

Last evening my dad called while I was cooking my dinner to tell me that my Uncle Acy had wandered off. Uncle Acy is Dad's oldest brother and has Alzheimer's. He was found about a half a mile from his home behind a barn wearing a pair of khakis, a long sleeved shirt, house-slippers, and a baseball cap. He is currently in the hospital being treated for hypothermia. The doctor said that if he had spent another two hours outside, he would not have survived.

My grandmother had what was diagnosed at the time as "hardening of the arteries" but was, quitle frankly, dementia. My Aunt Avis, who died two weeks ago, was in the early stages of dementia. And my Aunt Nellie is showing signs of it. I am so frightened for my Dad. I don't know if I could deal with the things that my cousins have dealt with so admirably.

One of my co-workers told of her grandmother pulling a knife on her mother before the family decided to put her in a special home for Alzheimer's patients.

Is it better to be healthy physically and live in a happy limbo while your family suffers or is it better to stay mentally sharp as your body deteriorates around you?

OH MY! I must shake this blue mood.

Monday, November 5, 2007

The Week-End from Hell!

I spent the week-end at my folks house. My dad and my sister had birthdays on October 25th, my BIL had a birthday on the 29th, Dad had a cataract removed on Thursday, and I'm up to my elbows in planning a Golden Anniversary party.

Of course, to hear my sister tell it, I'm a slacker who has done nothing. Oh yes, she has spent a lot of money. Not that she has made any special trips or gone out of her way...my sister does a lot of shopping. I, on the other had, was assigned designing and printing the invitations, which took about 30 man hours, a new printer/scanner, and some new software. Then, when I couldn't get it to work on my home printer, I went to Kinkos.

The gentleman at the nearest Kinkos to me was no help at all, so I went to on in Birmingham and the young man there was extremely helpful. I tried to send the file from my home program, but he couldn't open it. I then created a new document from my folks' computer but couldn't send it. Finally, I went to my sister's house and created a new document on her computer. She proofed it with me and I sent it off. I was told I could pick them up in the a.m.

Sis and her hubby picked them up Friday night and she called on her cell to tell me how great they looked. Saturday morning we began to address envelopes and Mom noticed that the date was wrong...2006. Yikes! Sis went home to try to edit my work and resend, but she couldn't find the saved file. Then she tried to recreate and couldn't. So I went to her house, created a new document, proofed it, and sent it off.

I went to pick up the invitations @ 4:30 on Saturday afternoon. I got home with them and began stuffing envelopes again and found a mis-spelled word. "Event" was now "even". My sister was red in the face and refused to speak to me. She called, however, an hour later to say that she had reviewed the original document and it was Kinko's error. She contacted Kinkos who promised to reprint and have new invites due in the a.m.. Sis and I were there by 9, but the invites were not.

Finally, we got the invitations printed correctly and mailed yesterday.

On top of this drama, I made 250 meatballs, 300 mints, 6 gallons of punch, and three meals. I also took my dad to the Piggly Wiggly, went to Sam's, Publix, and Academy Sports.

Then yesterday after lunch, I had my mom put on the slacks to the suit Sis had given her last year for Christmas so we could get them hemmed in time for her to wear the suit at her party. They didn't fit. Now Sis and I are in charge of finding her something to wear to the party.

I came in to work today and nothing was done while I was out on Friday, so I started the day 3 days behind.

I can hardly wait to leave this place today!