It Bears Repeating

[copied from dland]

That my children are very nice people. Not that K isn't being a sweetie pie today, but it's R I want to kiss and hug, and not just because it's her birthday.

Last night, when she and her roommate decided not to drive to Atlantic City in the storm, she said they would just spend the day catching up on TV they'd missed recently, and maybe go out somewhere at night if they felt like it. I suggested that they go to the nice Irish pub that's just a few blocks away from them, and she said maybe they would.

K, meantime, is home and without friends or anything to do. I thought, I guess it really would be too pushy of me to call R and suggest that she include K and have her stay overnight there, so I didn't call. If your mother tells you to do it, how much fun could that be?

But when I got back from ShopRite this morning, R had called and invited K to do exactly that. I am so, so happy. So happy that later on I'm even going to drive K over there, since R was coming over tomorrow anyway, and this way they'll only have one car to worry about, and not have to come back in two. And I get to kiss and hug the birthday girl on her actual birthday.

(26 years ago this minute: the baby was about 7 minutes old, labor was finally over -- so I thought, I forgot about that pesky placenta thing -- but I'd had a spinal so I was feeling no pain and just marveling at this amazing little face I was gazing down at.)

In the Celebrate With Me department, I do appear to have lost two pounds this week. After the scale barely moving (and sometimes the wrong way) for the last three weeks, this is excellent news for me. Hopefully, I'm in the groove now and I'll keep on going. Let's see, if I could lose a pound a week, I'd hit my goal ... in about October. That's not terribly likely, but it's something to shoot for. I'm thinking maybe another tattoo as a present for me when I reach my goal; all I've got to do now is decide on what I really really want and where. It's not like I don't have time.

My bingeing lately has been on crocs. I ordered a pair of open-toed crocs online, since I can't seem to wear flip-flops and sometimes you just need to wear that kind of shoe. Then I saw brown regular crocs at Nordstrom and had to have those. (You realize that these are real shoes, sort of, that cost less than $30 a pair.) But then I really hit it big when I found the elusive Disney crocs online! Disney crocs, how cool is that? I'll post of picture when I get them. They'll probably be the only shoes I ever wear once I have them. (Although the brown and navy crocs, the old ones, will be getting a workout, too.)

Speaking of, I want to wear crocs everyday. Not so easy when you're up to your ankles in snow. Lots and lots of snow out there, folks. And spring only a few days away, technically. This has been a very annoying winter in many ways, and I think to many people. It's crocs time, time to put away sweaters and jackets and all that and wear comfortable clothess. Enough, thank you.

I did get my corned beef this morning, a low sodium one for whatever good that will do. I guess I'll use some of backup points tomorrow.

Okay, I'm off to do an errand or two and then drop K off at R's.


WATCHING HP AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE :: ENTRY #1404

Merry Rat Schism!

[copied from dland]

Boxx wanted to see pictures of my holiday sweaters.

Blue:

Green:

I wore the blue one, because I was also wearing jeans (of course) and I wore the blue crocs, too. Should we all be more dressed up? I have no idea. Since it's usually just the ten of us at the ILs' house, jeans are pretty standard. (Except for the high school years, when the niece, according to her mother, did not own a pair of jeans. She also apparently owned only capri-length pants, which is what she wore year round. But no jeans.)

Later. Next day, actually. I mean, today.

So we headed down the Parkway around two, and got to the ILs around 3:30, no traffic whatsoever. The SIL and her brood were already there, which is maybe the second time they have arrived before us in 30 years. The MIL served the antipasto, everyone dug in, and gifts were opened.

The gifts were all fun, some particularly good, but the MIL apologized and said she was having an off year. Which she was, because just when she was ready to get her shopping started, all this mess with the FIL's back started up and she was making daily trips to the emergency room rather than the malls. Anyway, she had gotten me a Chico's gift card before all the hoohah started, and everybody else got a check. She got one DVD for each kid, then gave them money, and all their stocking stuff. The SIL gave R, along with money, a copy of The Joy of Cooking, which the kid did not put down all evening.

(A note on the FIL's health, since I've mentioned it before. His last injection for pain worked, and it's not a steroid injection, which means he can just go back for one every six to eight weeks for the rest of his life and be pain-free. Score for him. His mobility is still very limited though, and he's finally agreed that he needs one of those scooter things you see advertised on TV all the time, so he's got the prescription and he's getting one of those. The only sad thing I noticed was that he seems so much shorter, what with the back trouble and the difficulty in standing up straight; he seemed no more than 5'8" maybe, and he's always been 6'2". But no pain is the most important thing.)

There was way too much time between gifts and going out, so we pretty much just sat around, and left the house at six. The MIL rode with us, and the BIL drove his crew and the FIL in the FILs' car, which is the only one big enough for him to get into. The restaurant is in a strip-mall of restaurants, but is very nice inside and has absolutely excellent food. (An Italian restaurant.) All was well and nice; they had set us up at a round table, so we could all see and hear everyone. Even my usually-silent nephew spoke some; maybe he's finally growing up. We all have leftovers for today, which impacts on our own holiday meal schedule, but more on that later.

Then we went back to the house for some few desserts, although we'd had coffee in the restaurant. The MIL has many holiday decorations and trinkets all over; the Hubs' favorite is this alphabet-block thing that spells out "Merry Christmas" and has a Santa sitting on it, but every year, he spends heaven knows how much time re-arranging the blocks to say stupid things. Last night, K got into the act, and in a few minutes, topped her father's all-time best:

(That's the MIL on the side.)

We got home about eleven, also without traffic, and now we're in to spend the holidays with -- horrors! -- just us. I woke up with a colossal headache, probably from drinking nearly a whole glass of wine with dinner, which is more wine than I've had in years, so I'm getting a late start. The girls have even offered to go to the supermarket on their own, and I'm thinking of taking them up on it. Looks like we'll have our more-or-less traditional meal tonight (shrimp cocktail, orange salad, something else, I don't remember) but we'll skip the pasta, since the Hubs and K still have huge portions of last night's pasta left over, which they'll probably have for lunch. (I have sea bass leftover, but R polished off her filet mignon.) Somebody needs to make sure that the Chinese food place is open tomorrow, in which case, that'll be dinner. So I'm not cooking as much as I thought, although I will make some pumpkin pies later.

We were saying on the ride home last night that we should have wine with dinner tonight, and nobody could even remember where are wine glasses are. I did find them this morning, but the Hubs also found a bottle of cognac that someone gave him once, and I don't know if I can come up with glasses for that; I got some as a wedding present, but they've never been used, just toted around from place to place, no takers in any garage sale ever, and still someplace in a box in the basement. Maybe I'll look later. As for the wine and stuff, we always have bottles of one thing or another around, even though we rarely drink in the house, because the Hubs gets them as gifts every Christmas. He says he opens one bottle a year and uses it in his cooking from time to time. Anyway, I believe I agreed to drink red tonight, so we don't have to open two different bottles for just the four of us, and I'm guessing I haven't had red wine in 25 years. So tomorrow's headache ought to be a doozy. (I had a nice, very dry Frascati last night with dinner, and I know shit about wine, but it was most enjoyable. The drier the wine, the better I like it.)

So here it is, 10:30, and so far, what I've accomplished today is that I brushed my teeth, had a cup of coffee, and read Parade magazine. And read diaries and typed this, of course. I should probably go put on a bra, and then check the basement for those glasses. Or something.

Merry Rat Schism, everyone!


WATCHING BULL AND TED :: ENTRY #1330