Chemo Girl Speaks Out

The Funniest Thing

2009-10-07T13:43:00.002-05:00

I went to National Night Out last night, which, far from being a chance to get to know my actual neighbors on my actual street, in my neighborhood is more like a subdivision pool party. Anyway. While I was there, I was talking to a friend of mine. Her young son dropped his hot dog bun on the ground and started to cry.
Her husband said, "It's ok, just Baby Jesus it."
And my friend picked up the hot dog bun, brought it close to her mouth, said, "Baby Jesus!" and gave it to her son.
Upon noticing my slack-jawed, open-eyed gaze, she said, "When I was young, my cousins and I decided that if you drop food, as long as you observe the ten-second rule and say, 'Baby Jesus' over the food, it's safe."
So, I turned to her husband, who otherwise seems like a perfectly normal kind of guy, the kind of guy who would mow your lawn for you while you're out of town. "So...are you one of her cousins, or did you just pick up on the insanity when you married her?"
It was the latter, in case you're wondering.
I know that people pick up stuff from their spouses. Everyone in my family says, "Oh, my goodness" just like me. And if you see a picture of a formerly hot celebrity for whom the years have not been kind, you say, "How are the mighty fallen", and so on.
So, here's a tip for extra food safety, straight from the wilds of Houston, Texas: Baby Jesus your fallen food!

Not The Day I'd Planned

2009-10-01T17:53:00.003-05:00

My bible study group on Sunday discussed the Sabbath. I remember an old pastor of mine, Doug Pratt, saying years ago that Americans work at their play, worship their work, and play at their worship. I envy the observant Jews who actually take a day of rest. Sundays for me are not a day of rest since I work at church. Monday through Friday, of course it's getting kids ready for school, housework, errands and so on.
The problem is I feel guilty when I rest, because I am surrounded by Things To Do.

Really?

2009-10-01T09:37:00.002-05:00

So, I'm paying bills yesterday, and I notice that we're still paying $25 a month automatically to pay off the set of encyclopedias that Mike ordered. And I realize that I haven't gotten a statement from them lately.
So I call.
The lady finds our account, and asks what she can do for me.
Me: What's our balance?
Lady: Oh. Well, it looks like you have a $150 credit balance.

Really? So, we've been overpaying for SIX MONTHS and y'all didn't even notice?

enough, already

2009-06-25T19:14:00.005-05:00

i am making the girls do a workbook page a day of the "Summer Bridge Workbook", and read 20 minutes a day this summer, and when they finished 15 days' worth, they got to pick a prize. tess picked a little diva makeover, and jillian picked going to build-a-bear. so, we go to the mall, and get tess her makeover, and jillian her bear. when we finish with tess' makeover complete with glitter and sparkles, she says she has to to the bathroom RIGHT NOW.
fine.
the nearest department store is Dillard's. so we go in there to go to the bathroom. on our way there, tess sees a flyer for "Celebrity Makeup Artist Michael [hoohah]", and she gets all excited, and wants me to get a makeover. fine. whatever.
we go to the bathroom, and then go to the makeup counter where the CMA was holding forth, and how it worked was, there were 4 celebrity makeup peons who each had a client, and did whatever the CMA said.

and i had a lady, who, really, i'm not being unnecessarily ugly, was about 60 and had raccoon eyes. but ok. So I only got to see the CMA for brief seconds at a time, as he went from chair to chair, supervising.

so my peon does my makeover, and she DOES NOT SHUT UP. she talks from the time i sit down until the end of the makeover.
when the makeover is finished, she says, "Now, with the moisturizer, the concealer, the toner, the foundation, the eye..."
"I'm not buying all that," I say.
"You're not?"
"No, I just came in here to go to the bathroom."
Now, I liked the foundation, but once she wrote down what she had used, and the relative prices, hoo mama!
Foundation: $66
Concealer: $23
Moisturizer: $40
So, I asked her if I could just buy the concealer, but she said it wouldn't work w/o the foundation, and I sure as heck wasn't buying the foundation.
so.
"I'll take the toner."
"And the concealer and foundation?"
"No. I just came in here to go to the bathroom."
"How about the moisturizer, and some eye shadow?"
"No, just the toner. I just came in here to go to the bathroom."
"Oh." (yells) "OK, Tony, ring her up! She's just getting the toner!"
Because, really? I was dressed in my workout clothes, and had had a minimum of makeup on. Did they think I was going to spend over $200 on makeup and skin care on a whim? I HAVE makeup and skin care at home, and if i run out, i have loads of MK, Avon and Arbonne ladies to help me....

Ready for my closeup....

Meh.

2009-06-24T14:21:00.003-05:00

I am sick. Started feeling icky yesterday at work, just achey all over, sore throat, etc. Went home, and stayed in bed for the rest of the day, only getting up to make myself some soup for supper. Had tomato basil soup for lunch, and vegetarian barley for supper. i kept thinking of that quote, "I'm only a bad case of stomach flu away from my goal weight."
i asked mike to rub my feet since all of me was achey, but my feet especially so, and he said, "Wow, you're hot." But i don't think he meant it in the "beautiful" sense....

Buh-bye, Menopause. See You Soon

2009-03-25T22:14:00.003-05:00

My body decided this month to emerge from menopause with a vengeance.

Me (last month): I think I'll donate all my unused feminine products to Cypress Assistance Ministries.
God: Not so fast.

Eating Roasted Beets for Supper

2009-03-25T22:14:00.001-05:00

Purple in, purple out.

I'm just sayin'.

A New Excuse Not To Get Up

2009-03-25T22:10:00.004-05:00

I was up uber-late last night, finishing writing the Good Friday service. Like 2 a.m., which in my younger days would have been No Problem. But my 46-year-old body did not want to get up at 6:14 when the alarm went off.
And it didn't.
I woke up at 8 a.m. when the neighbor girl knocked on the front door. Tess got up, no problem, but when I went to wake Jillian, she said, "They won't let me in if I'm more than 15 minutes late." And refused to get up.
So I called the receptionist at school, and had her tell Jillian it was ok to be late to school. Only then did she get up.

Jesus #2

2009-03-25T22:06:00.003-05:00

Jesus #2 -- in "Jesus of Nazareth" is better. He gets flogged, but we mainly see reaction shots of the crowd. He has blue eyes. sigh. and guy liner.
This movie is one of the spot-the-celebrity movies. Distracting from the story -- Ernest Borgnine! Larry Olivier! Anne Bancroft! James Farentino! Olivia Hussey!

Jesus #1

2009-03-18T12:43:00.007-05:00

The Jesus in "The Greatest Story Every Told" speaks in a ponderous manner, British accent of course, and barely moves his facial muscles. and he has BLUE eyes.
Presentational staging, lots of violins and sopranos.
Everyone....speaks....really....slowly....
the crowds are silent and respectful.
oddly enough, the crown of thorns on this Jesus didn't produce any blood. and he didn't get flogged. his robe got a little dirty, and he's barefoot, but that seems to be the extent of his pre-cross suffering. oh, i take that back. there are about 7 little red stripes on the back of his robe, and his hand is bloody. Poor thing.

Massacre

2009-03-18T09:42:00.003-05:00

The moths and I are in a battle. The kitchen has become infested lately with Indian Meal Moths, and it seems the more of them I smush, the more they keep acomin'. They have their own methods of getting back at me for massacring their friends -- like a suicide mission into my chai tea, or into the dog's water....

Family Fun Night

2009-03-14T02:06:00.011-05:00

Last Friday was Tess' 9th birthday, and her school's Family Fun Night, and her friend Cierra's slumber party. So we went to FFN for a while, where she got to dance the Cotton Eye Joe with the rest of the Third graders.
This video is from Family Fun Night. Tess is in the blue shirt. I was standing right by the speakers, so it's a bit loud.

Then I dropped her off at Cierra's.

After we picked her up Saturday, we went to Rainforest Cafe to celebrate as a family, and then walked around Katy Mills Mall for a while.

Finally, home to open presents! She was very excited to receive an iPod shuffle from Gaga, and a gift card from Nana. The bike she was less than thrilled with, because it didn't have any training wheels, and she is not ready to give up on training wheels yet.

Sigh

2009-03-14T01:09:00.003-05:00

So, I'm coordinating Jillian's school's art fundraiser. They didn't have one last year, so I volunteered, because I want some stuff with her artwork on it. OK. So, Square1 Art sent me several emails telling me THE ARTWORK HAS TO GO OUT ON THE 11TH. THEY HAVE TO RECEIVE IT THE 13TH. "Your commitment to adhering to the Reservation Form date schedule is very important. We have assigned production time for your school based on the dates"
Fine.
I'm a procrastinator. So, when do i ask for the class lists from the school secretary? The 11th. When do i go to pick up the artwork? The 11th after school. The class lists were nowhere to be found, so I had to write them out by hand. All 205 names. And some of those kids' handwriting, whew. Anyway. I don't get done till after 6. And I go to the UPS store to ship the box out.
UPS Guy: The last truck already came at 6. You'll have to overnight it tomorrow. $68.
Me: Is there a UPS location that stays open later that has a later pickup?
UPS Guy: Yeah, there's Stafford or the airport.
me: Fine. I don't mind going to the airport.
UPS Guy: Stafford is closer.
me: OK. Fine. I'll go to Stafford.
UPS Guy: It's closed now.

So, anyway, he gives me this 1-800 number to call to find out the location and hours of the airport location. Fine. I call, and the guy tells me there's one on Sweetwater that closes at 7:15, and gives me the directions. Turns out it's off 45. So I drive, with the girls in the car, all the way to the 45 location. When do I get there? 7:20. And the registers are closed.
So, I drive back to our side of town, and take the girls to Luby's for supper. We get there at 8 p.m. I call my Square 1 art contact and leave a message, telling her the situ and asking her what to do.
I get an email from her Thursday morning, saying "That's ok. Just send it out today, two day. If we get it Monday, that's fine."

So i mailed it, along with Jayden's late birthday gift, and Criss' extremely late Christmas gift. I had to wait to mail my niece's Danielle's late birthday gift, because I forgot the gift card.

relaxing

2009-02-27T12:44:00.002-06:00

i am still in my pajamas. after days and weeks of non-stop activity, most of the stuff i have to do for the show is donedonedone. i need to pick up mike cables, some dip, and some ice. that's it.
yippee! i am watching tv today, and tidying on commercial breaks.

The Power of Prayer

2009-02-27T05:36:00.002-06:00

I just want to tell you, i believe in the power of prayer. This whole process of directing a show at Cypress Christian has been an arduous one, capped by finding out Wednesday at noon that my lead actor was dropping out. I found out just before going in to Ash Wednesday service, and I spent the whole service in prayer, and reading the Psalms, rubbing my thumb over certain verses to take them in further -- verses of deliverance and salvation.
Right after church, I went to the school and talked to the principal, and we decided to use one of the other actors, who'd been to every rehearsal but only had one line, and he would have the script in his hand. And my AD would step into that part.
I felt like I was going to faint for a while, but after I told enough people, and enough people started to pray, I calmed down. As my friend Tammy said, "Who's in control?" If God is in control why worry? If He's not in control, we're all in a world of hurt.
The performance yesterday went great. Ben was familiar enough with the script that he didn't really have to read from it except for some of the long speeches. The audience really liked it, and I got several comments about how I should publish it. I'm just praising God for His faithfulness, and praying we don't lose a lot of money on the show....

Today

2009-02-19T19:43:00.001-06:00

Jillian's school is being decimated by sickness, so after they called the second time to ask me to sub, and said it was ok if i showed up after ten, i acquiesced. so, since i subbed, i didn't get anything for the show done. we need flats painted, costumes, set pieces, props, beards and mustaches, flyers made...
i have high hopes for tomorrow.

Irony

2009-02-19T06:03:00.002-06:00

So you know my Facebook alter ego is Francesca Galliano. I was talking to Mike the other day, and he reminded me that his paternal grandfather's real surname was Campion. Grandpa's parents died in a fire, so he was adopted and changed his surname. If that hadn't happened, tho, I could be Francesca Campion......

CrazyBusy

2009-02-19T05:49:00.002-06:00

I know I talk a lot on this blog about how busy I am, but I really have been lately. It seems I'm either working at church, working at the school getting ready for the show next week, or at home doing laundry or dishes. I've had a lot of fun directing this show, and God has been faithful to get me the people I need to paint sets, do makeup, and so on, but I will be glad when it is over so I can have some free time!

The show is, "Guess Who's Here?" a comedy written by yours truly. It will be performed 7 p.m. Thursday Feb 26th and Friday, Feb 27th at The Banff School. Admission is $12 for students and $14 for adults.

The frustrating part has been a few of my actors just don't show up for rehearsal. They don't let me know ahead of time, they just don't show up. Maybe they have a baseball game, maybe they have track, maybe they're sick, I don't know. We have been rehearsing since November, and I don't think I've had a full cast yet.

The Girl Scout cookies are in. And they are just sitting there. I have not delivered any. Except the next door neighbors, who are serious about their Thin Mints.

D'Oh!

2009-02-11T12:27:00.002-06:00

So, we get home laaaaaaaate last night. I get the girls into bed, make some dark chocolate brownies, and fall asleep. I wake up ~1 a.m., and realize I hadn't prepared my chapel talk for this morning.
So I get that prepared, print it out, gather my props, and go to bed.
I wake up at 6:40, get everyone ready, and we are out the door at 7:15 a.m. I drop Jillian off, go find the principal to make sure it's ok if I pull some high school students out of class to be part of chapel, and then I go set up for chapel.
Lisa Shroyer once told me that the secret to a successful children's devotional is props. lots and lots of props.
So, for this chapel, I had chocolates, a picture of Joe Jonas, a picture of Donny Osmond, and a whipped cream pie. It went over very well, especially when I put the whipped cream pie into the face of the girl who wasn't being very loving....(she volunteered!)
Anyway, I get home from that, write the newsletter for the PTO, and start scrambling eggs for lunch. And as I'm standing there, reveling in the fact that I don't have anything to do for a couple of hours, I think, "Oh, lunch. I forgot to bring Jillian a lunch."
Just when you think you have it all together....

OK, So, Wow

2009-02-11T11:01:00.002-06:00

The girls and I went out to eat last night at Black-Eyed Pea, because kids eat free. Then, we went to Michael's to get some stuff for Jillian to decorate her valentines box with. On the way home, at 8:23 p.m., we see this Hummer shoot out from a side street, hit a median, richochet off, spin around, and hit a power pole on the other side of the street.
So, I turn around and go to the scene of the accident. The driver, who was an intoxicated young woman in her late teens/early 20s, walked off. Left the scene of the accident. Hit, And. Run.
There were 4 witnesses: Me, a guy named Marcus, and a couple whose names I didn't ask. We called 911 FIVE TIMES, and it took the police NINETY MINUTES to show up. And we were just witnesses, doing our civic duty.
And it's cold, and rainy, and windy, and my kids go to bed before nine.
When the police finally showed up, they said it had only come across a few minutes previously. Which we could tell, because no two trucks showed up till the police did.
Policeman: When did the accident happen?
all of us: 8:23
Policeman: You've been out here for an hour and a half?
all of us: YES.
The scary part was, the BF of the driver came by, got really mad, fell to his knees, hit the ground with his fist, called her a bunch of names, took stuff out of the hummer and left. He came by three times and took stuff out of the hummer each time.
Anyway, the moral of the story? Apparently, shift change for HPD is at 9 p.m., so if you're planning on getting into or witnessing a wreck, don't do it at 8:23 p.m.

Ow!

2009-02-06T11:15:00.001-06:00

The cat started to vomit Saturday, so I scooped her up, held her in front of me, and started running with her toward the back door. Unfortunately, I slipped in some of the vomit, fell, and hit my head on the wall. I'm still getting get headaches from that....

My Precious Girl

2009-02-06T10:43:00.013-06:00

Tess has developed the stinkiest feet known to man. If she is in the 3rd row of the minivan and takes her shoes off, I have to crack my window so I can breathe.

Anyway.
We just finished our first school project -- make a volcano.

We started with a bottle of Big Red.
We experimented with a bottle of Rig Red and Mentos to make sure it would work.

Then we tried covering it with clay, but we ran out.

Then we made our own dough, but it fell off within 30 minutes.

Then we used a shell of cardboard, and added newspaper, and home-made papier mache.

Tess spray painted it, and added a display board.

Jillian and I went by after lunch to see the explosion at Tess' school. Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. Mike came up with the idea of using Big Red, as it looks more lava-like than Diet Coke.

Those Pesky Italians

2009-01-29T08:48:00.002-06:00

So I posted a pic of me on my Francesca facebook page. It's a fabulous pic of me that Mike took on our honeymoon. Because I figured all those Italian people who THOUGHT they were wanting to be friends with an Italian girl named Francesca would look at my pic, and then think, "No, wait. That doesn't look like the Francesca I know."
But no.
Mauro Salomone and Paolo Bologna want to be my friends.
Sigh.

The Dangers of Reading The Newspaper -- Sad

2009-01-28T22:51:00.003-06:00

I need to cancel my newspaper subscription. I hardly ever read it, and it goes from the front yard to the recycle bin, usually still in its plastic bag.
Today, however, I had my quarterly round of checkups with my medical team, and so i took the paper with me, as we all know that going to see the doctor involves lots of waiting.
And I read the paper.
Unfortunately, it included a graphic description of the beating a two-year-old received at the hands of her mother and her stepdad before she died.
And I can't get it out of my head. Part of the dangers of an active imagination.
So I cried for her, and prayed for her, and all the children who suffer at the hands of those they should be able to trust, and asked God to use me however He wanted to help those children. Baby Grace is not in pain anymore, but there are plenty of children who are.

Of Accidents and Quietude

2009-01-26T09:01:00.015-06:00

I bought a new desk the other day, as my old computer desk was just not big enough. I found myself putting papers on the floor, and then I couldn't find them later, blablalbaa.

So, we got our income tax refund the other day, and Mike said I could use part of it to get a new desk. I found one I liked at Louis Shanks, so I took all the passengar seats out of the minivan and went down Thursday to go pick it up. (They wanted to charge me $140 to deliver it.)
The furniture store is 30 minutes from our house, and we are on the way home, the desk and I. We get close to Kuykendahl, and the guy two in front of me slows to turn. The guy in front of me stops. The desk and I stop. The guy behind me? Not so much.
BAM! Third guy's car.

Bam! The van.

bam. first guy's car.

By God's grace, no one got hurt, but as you can see, the last guy's car was totaled. I have an appointment with the adjuster or whoever Tuesday, as I need a new bumper, a new door, and probably a new gas tank. The weird thing was, the guy gave me his girlfriend's insurance information, because he didn't have his, but he told me not to use it, that he would call me.
I waited, and called him FOUR TIMES, and he never called back with the info, so after waiting 48 hours, I went ahead and made a claim using the his girlfriend's info.
I was still shaken up Thursday, and I didn't feel like lugging the desk out of the van. Friday, Mike was too tired. Saturday, I was at a seminar, and by the time I got home, it was time for Mike and the girls to go to basketball, and when they got home, it was dark. So, yesterday, when I got home from church, I saw four strong young men playing basketball next door, and recruited them to help. It took all four of them plus Mike to get it in the house.

me: Isn't it pretty?
Mike: "Yeah, but next time, get a lighter desk."
So, here is a picture of my beautiful new desk. I am still figuring out where to put everything, but I like it!

Mike and I took Jillian to school today, and on the way to breakfast afterward, he's telling me how to drive. Which bugs me the snot out of me, because I have been driving three years longer than he has, and I seem to do just fine driving around all day long without his help, getting backended the other day aside.

Then, we're taking Tess to school afterward, and we see our neighbor Vernetta.
Me: Tess, is Christina in 4th grade or 5th this year?
Tess: It's CHRISTINA, not CHRISTINE, mom.
Me: OK, y'all have a good day today.

It must be a recessive gene where they think they know better than me.....

How It Is

2009-01-19T20:33:00.002-06:00

I worked in a pharmacy for year, and if you need a refill, here is how it goes:

1. You call the doctor's office, and ask them to call in a refill.
2. They say ok, ask the number of your preferred pharmacy, and call it in.
Total number of calls = 1 Total time: 2 minutes.

Mike goes to a different doctor than the girls and I. He needed a refill on his prescription, so he asked me to call the doctor, make an appointment, and get a refill.

1. I call the doctor and make an appointment for March. (He's really busy until then.)
2. I call back and ask them to call in a refill. They say the pharmacy has to fax them the prescription request.
3. I hang up, and realize I don't have the doctor's fax number. I call back, but it's after 5, so they don't pick up.
4. I call today, and get the fax number.
5. I call Walgreens, and leave a message, as you can't talk to a live person.
6. Walgreens calls back and leaves me a message. I return the call, and give them Mike's birthday. They promise to call the doctor.
7. They call me again and leave me another message. I return the call, and they say the doctor's office turned down the refill request, saying the doctor wants to see Mike.
8. I call the doctor, and tell them WE ALREADY MADE AN APPOINTMENT. Oh, well let me talk to the nurse. OK, the doctor says he can have a short-term refill to get him by until his appointment. THANK YOU.
Total number of calls: 8 Total time: far too long

Whew!

2009-01-08T10:15:00.002-06:00

So, my family got me Jillian Michaels' workout DVD for Christmas, Thirty Day Shred or something like that. If you don't know who she is, she's that mean trainer from "Biggest Loser".
The DVD has 3 20 minute workouts, combining cardio and strength.
I did Level One yesterday.
OMGoodness. I started wanting to give up during the 4 minutes of jumping jacks we started off with.
Then, I needed handweights, which i didn't know beforehand, and she doesn't wait for you to run go get some from Target or whatever, so I ran into the bathroom and grabbed two bottles of Listerine and used those. I just glad nobody peeked into the bedroom while I was doing my squats and lunges while lifting two bottles of Listerine in the air....

Home Again

2009-01-01T22:33:00.001-06:00

We just got home from Kansas. After we put everything away, i let the girls take a bubble bath while i got out the Wiifit so i could play it uninterrupted for once. but no. we left the CD in my sister's Wii machine.
sigh.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T23:59:00.002-06:00

May 2009 be your best year ever, filled with joy, friends, and laughter, and a renewed sense of God's love and presence in your life!

Facebook Fun

2008-12-31T23:53:00.003-06:00

You may have notice my blogging has died down lately, and it is all due to facebook. i love facebook. it is a way to keep up with friends, reconnect with old friends, and play games.
in my case, word games like scrabble.
but none of my loser friends will play with me. i currently have 5 scrabble games waiting for other people to take a turn, and enough time has passed that i coudl force a forfeit, should i so choose.
all that to say, that i created a second facebook identity, using my second email address, so i could play facebook with myself. my second identity is "Francesca Galliano". Doesn't that sound awesome for a name? i could so totally become a Francesca Galliano.
And of course, Francesca has one friend. Me.
Until today.
Today I log on as Francesca, and there are no fewer than FIVE Italian people who want to be my Facebook friend. No lie. Rodolfo Pambianco, Giulia Gallo, Gianluca Trovati, and Daniela Golia all want to be my friend. I have a feeling that somewhere in Italy there really is a Francesca Galliano....boy, is she going to be mad if i take all of her friends...

Christmas

2008-12-27T21:13:00.002-06:00

I hate to say this as a Christian woman, but i am glad Christmas is over. It is such a rushing, stressful time trying to get everything done for Christmas in addition to getting all one's normal activities done.
We are at my mom's, playing the Wii Fit, and it is funfunfun. Tho I suck at soccer, I'm pretty good at step.

P.S. To all my out of town relatives: you will receive your gifts soon. Before the 12th day of Christmas.

Just In Cast You're Interested...

2008-12-23T00:08:00.003-06:00

I wrote and directed a series of short videos for church. Here's the link if you want to see them:

http://cumc.mychurchmediaonline.com/
The shepherds are my fave.

Out in the Fray

2008-12-22T20:52:00.002-06:00

So the girls and I headed out into the fray today, as I am sorely behind on all things Christmas. My coping strategy was to give each of the girls three No Complaining/Free Treat Coupons. We left the house at 11:40. If by 12:40 they had not complained one time, they got one free treat. Tess chose a small Icee. Jillian got some little toy.
I take that back. I wrote on their coupons "Beginning 11:40 a.m." and we actually left the house at 11:37, so my funny daughters spent the next three minutes saying, "I'mhungryI'mboredI'mtiredThisisboringCanwegohomenow?" over and over. It was very funny.
Crowds weren't bad, really, but the traffic! Wow! I left the house with 0 makeup, and by the time we got to the mall, normally a ten-minute drive, I had on foundation, powder, lipstick, eyeliner, three shades of eyeshadow, blush, mascara, and eyebrow pencil. Cuz I had a LOT of time to sit in traffic.
We got home 7 hours after we left. Whew!

Zzzzz

2008-12-17T23:26:00.002-06:00

Whatever the state beyond "exhausted" is, I'm in it. I've had nonstop meetings, rehearsals, performances, writing, directing, errands, and a bit of Christmas stuff thrown in for days now. Right now, I just finished making Christmas candy for Jillian to give to her teacher tomorrow, and I'm doing some laundry so she can have a clean pair of jeans and her one Christian t-shirt that references Christmas, to wear tomorrow, her last day of school of the year.
this was after going to the grocery store at ten o'clock at night to buy some Barbasol because Tess spill some red nail polish on our beige carpet, and eHow.com says Barbasol will get it out.
tomorrow we have more filming, then the Christmas party is at 1:30.

Christmas Day

2008-12-11T08:31:00.002-06:00

I have decided today will be a Christmas day, where I spend the majority of my time doing Christmas stuff. Because, of course, I am way behind. Decorations aren't up, tree isn't up, cards aren't sent, letter isn't written, still have gifts to buy and wrap and mail....

She's Growing Up Too Fast

2008-12-11T08:29:00.001-06:00

My older daughter has decided to write her own blog. Facebook won't let her have her own page yet, so she has decided to blog instead. I have told her not to use her own name, and not to name any details about where she goes to school or anything.

Sports Woes

2008-11-29T16:05:00.003-06:00

So, this year the girls are involved in sports instead of dance, drama, or gymnastics. One thing I am discovering about being involved in sports is that it is expen$ive. You have to buy equipment, and uniform$, and $HOE$.
Volleyball is over, soccer is winding down, and so in December, the girls start playing Upwards Basketball, which is a basketball program, that also teaches the kids bible verses. And Tess' coach has requested the girls play with high top shoes. We went to Payless Shoe Source today, but they didn't have anything Tess would wear. Sears ditto, so we went to Kids Footlocker, and they didn't have anything for under $60, and most of their shoes were in the $70 to $80 range. Which is fine, for adults, who don't outgrow shoes EVERY SIX MONTHS. I bought Jillian a pair of size 2.5 shoes and a pair of size 3 shoes from Zappos (she wears extrawide shoes so we pretty much have to get hers online) in May as she was wearing size 2.5 then, but I knew she would be wearing size 3 soon. We measured her feet while we were at the shoe store, and she wears a size 4 now. Six months later, and her feet have grown a size and a half.
So I came home, went to Zappos.com, put in Tess' size and found a pair of high tops for $43, free shipping.

Post Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T15:57:00.003-06:00

I got up Friday at 4 a.m., because Sports Authority was giving out scratchoff cards to the first 100 people through the door, and you got extra money off your purchase from $10 to $300, and I can sleep anytime. Plus, they have a trampoline and enclosure for $170. It's an 11', which is about as big as our tiny back yard can hold. So, I got there about 4:20. The poor lady at the Jack in the Box next door was all alone, and she had all these customers who were on their way to sales.
Anyway, I was #37, and I got a $10 off card. Not bad.
Went from there to the mall, where I went to Macy's $10 off coupon), Sears ($10 off coupon), Limited Too (BOGO), and then headed to Barnes and Noble, which! was closed! It was already 8:30! Went to World Market (another scratch off card, but I didn't win the trip to Peru), a Christian Book store where I bought a Christmas gift for myself that I will wrap and put under the tree (Phillip Yancey's book on prayer, which was 50% off), Pier One, and then home to pick up the girls and drop them off at a local gym where they could play until 1 pm. Went to Barnes and Noble (one book 40% off, Holiday music 30% off) I got Ender's Game, and the soundtrack to Elf.
The last two places I went to were for my sis, but neither store had what I was looking for, so I went to see "Four Christmases", which was about what you would expect. If you go see it, though, the travel agent is Peter Billingsley (also an executive producer on the film) from "A Christmas Story", and the two redneck brothers are the director of the film, and Tim McGraw.
Picked the girls up, and pretty much rested the rest of the day. I did a little bit of writing in the evening, as the ideas in my head kept interfering with my reading, and if I don't put them on paper, they don't leave me alone.
The funny thing was, my whole rhythm was off. I started feeling that "I'm tired, so it's probably about the girls' bedtime" feeling, but I looked at my watch, and it was only 6:30. I was ready for bed, though!

Post Dinner

2008-11-27T15:03:00.005-06:00

I am tired. To be expected, of course. Ran around yesterday getting ready for today, and then stayed up late ditto. Then got up this morning, ran to the grocery store for two things I forgot: Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk, and pie crusts. Then, started baking and cooking as soon as I got home. The girls helped when I asked them to, stirring, setting the table, coming up with the centerpiece, etc.
I know I could have had a less complicated meal, but I would have felt cheated somehow, if we'd had Stouffer's frozen sides, and pre-made pies. The sugar-free pie we did buy, but we made the pumpkin and mincemeat pies.
I asked everyone last week what were two things they wanted for Thanksgiving, and that's how I built the menu. So, no cranberries, no mashed potatoes and gravy, no stuffing -- because no one requested those.
I guess the fatigue is worth it,because we had a nice meal, a nice prayer of thanks, and we spent time together preparing it.

The Approved Thanksgiving Menu

2008-11-27T14:57:00.004-06:00

Honey-baked Ham (DH's request)
Yeast Rolls with cinnamon butter (my fave)
Cheesy Cauliflower (DD1's request)
Scallopped Corn (DH's request)
Broccoli Rice Casserole (me)
Green Bean Casserole (DD2's request)
Black Olives (everyone)
Grapes (DD2's request)
Devilled Eggs (me)
Sugar-Free Chocolate Pie (me)
Pumpkin Pie (DD1)
Mincemeat Pie (DH)

Just In Time for Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T07:33:00.001-06:00

I have a cold. Not a stay-in-bed-groaning-faintly cold, but one of those where you cough, sneeze and blow your nose more than normal, and you feel achey. So, we'll just have to see how much effort goes into the Thanksgiving Meal this year.
We're staying in town this year, and it'll be just the four of us, which is a little sad. I like having lots of people around for the holidays. Anyone wanna come over?

A Movie Review Of Twillight

2008-11-21T15:53:00.001-06:00

Bleaugh. Badly directed, choppily written. And who cast Edward Scissorhands' little brother as Jasper? And who made Bella as pale as the vampires? And who decided to make Carlton look gay? Deanna and I burst out laughing every time Jasper appeared on the screen. He looked like he'd suffered a concussion lately -- pupils fixed and dilated.
Deanna said she wouldn't mind her middle schooler watching it, but she didn't want to have to sit through it again....

Waaaaaahhhhhhhh!

2008-11-21T15:50:00.002-06:00

I have a few favorite shows that I watch. I never watch live TV any more -- it's just annoying. My fave shows are: 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Chuck, Amazing Race, DWTS, and Terminator:TSCC.
Nine shows. Not a lot. And? ABC, in its infinite wisdom, has canceled THREE of those: Daisies, Money, and Stone.
Are you kidding me?
Daisies, especially, is a cut above. Charming, witty. Of course it failed while drek such as Married With Children survived for YEARS.

Yesterday

2008-11-20T09:03:00.002-06:00

Got up uber-early to bake cookies for the TWO cookies exchanges. Ended up having to go to Walmart (ew) to get supplies. I hate Walmart. They don't have organic stuff, I hate their pricing policies, how they force smaller stores out of business. Anyway.

Baked 4 different kinds of cookies, got the girls off to school, went to cookie exchange #1, josted by Cynthia Broom, who is moving to the east coast. Went to the grocery store, bought apples, came home and sliced them and brought them to DD2's school for the feast, which, it turns out is Friday. So I left them there so her class could have a snack.
Came home, tided the house, and planned the girl scout meeting to be held at our house. Went to pick up DD2 at 3. It was Science Club day, so she was busy until 4:15. Fine. Go home, more tidying.
The girls scouts arrive around 6:15, and I have them make little pilgrim hats out of fudgestripe cookies turned upside down, and marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate chips. Then they mashed potatoes, and milked a "cow" (a ziplock with a tiny hole cut in the corner), mashed yams, and tried acorn squash as we talked about the difference between the first Thanksgiving meal and the ones we enjoy today. The girls scouts left around 7:40, then i hopped on my bike and rode down the street to the second cookie exchanged of the day, at Brenda Walker's.
You know how, when you get a bunch of woman together, they start talking loudly? You get a bunch of women with wine in them, and wow....
Came home around 9, was in bed by 10.
On deck for today, field trip training, lunch with Deanna, rehearsal at DD2's school for the school play where, God willing, we will have some boys show up, filming an Advent video at church.

Halloween In Brief

2008-10-31T22:21:00.002-05:00

jillian went as a minimalist kitty: drawn-on whiskers, cat ears, white shirt, khakis. i am all for simplicity, but not when i've spent $30 on another costume.
tess went as a zombie goth girl.
i went as a jedi soccer mom.

JC Penney Loves Me

2008-10-30T21:54:00.002-05:00

Remember my tale of the smokin' hot brown sandals that I ended up getting for $14 from JCP just by going down to the dang store and using my $10 off coupon, plus they were on sale? (Still my favorite shoes, btw)
Anyway, I get another $10 off coupon in the mail from them, and I need a pair of boots. So I go on the website, find a pair I like that look comfortable. They're listed as being originally $100, marked down to $50. OK, $40 for a pair of boots, that's not bad. I get to checkout, and they're marked down further to $26, minus my $10 off -- I got them for $16 plus $8 shipping! (The shipping is a bit high, because I ordered two pairs, one in 9.5 and one in 10, as I don't know which size will fit my gargantuan feet better...I'll return the other pair...)

All Clear For Another Three Months

2008-10-30T21:33:00.003-05:00

Went to see my BC surgeon the other day, and got the all clear in regard to my ultrasound. He and I were discussing the frequency of my Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging test. It is very new, and many insurance companies have not decided how often they will pay for it. He said, "I think if you have it every two years, that should be fine."
I said, "But given that I have extremely dense breast tissue, and that my triple-negative BC would come back within five years if it does recur, and that originally it grew from non-discernable in February to fully differentiated 2 cm tumor ten months later...."
"You're right," he ssiad. "In your case, I think you should have it every year. You're already at the highest risk you can be."

Yay for convncing him, but wow! for the casual way he doffed that last bit. I mean, I know it COULD come back, and that given that I am young in regard to BC survivors, but wow! I am praying against recurrance, and eating more veggies and doing more exercise than ever b4 in my whole life. Sample: today, walked 15 minutes with Jillian in the morning. Did 30 minutes of zumba tape at home. Biked 15 minutes two and from Tess' school.

This and That

2008-10-30T20:40:00.002-05:00

We tried to go to our church's pumpkin patch tonight, but we were too late. We'd intended to go Tuesday, but I got sick. So, off we went to the grocery store, where the pumpkins were $4, and they had a special mini-fall festival where the kids got to decorate their own cookie, get their face painted, and get candy from the meat department. So, though we didn't get any cool pictures, the kids still had fun.
We bought 3 jack-o-lantern pumpkins for Mike and the kids, and i bought 2 pie pumpkins, as i am going to try to make pumpkin pie from scratch this year.

I went by Sonic the other day to get a drink.
Me: (at the drive-thru menu) I'd like a large mostly Diet Dr. Pepper, with a little bit of regular Dr....
Kid Who Works There: (interrupting) What?
Me: I'd like a large mostly Diet Dr. Pepper, with a little...
KWWT: What?
Me: I'll drive around and explain it to you. (drive around. to KWWT) I like a large 75% Diet Dr. Pepper and 25% regular Dr. Pepper.
KWWT: So, half and half?

Fall Festivals

2008-10-26T03:48:00.003-05:00

Friday night, we went to our church's Fall Festival. The girls wore their official Halloween costumes of Goth Girl and Asoka, the Paduan (it's a Star Wars character). Getting them ready was a bit of a hassle with makeup and finding costume pieces and trying to get stuff to fit, blablabla.
The girls had fun, but were disappointed they didn't win the costume contest.

Saturday was the neighborhood's Fall Festival. And I was tired. And I'd volunteered to make cupcakes for the cake walk, so halway thru making them, I said, "Go get ready for the festival! Costumes or not, I don't care!" So we ended up with a volleyball player, and Lily from Hannah Montana. Much easier.

And we got home to discover Mike had made turkey chili! Bonus!

The Trip(s) to the ER

2008-10-23T09:19:00.004-05:00

If I had a laptop with Wifi, these posts would have been made earlier and would have been longer, as there's nothing like sitting in a hospital room for hours on end to make you think of funny posts to write on your blog.
Anyway.
October 1. We get home from volleyball practice. We eat supper. We tell DD1 after supper to go take a shower. She disappears into the master suite. About ten minutes later, we hear a scream. We tend toward the dramatic in our house, so neither DH nor I go running. We just look at each other, and decide it's DH's turn to see what the dealio is. I hear him yelling. OK.
Turns out DD1 instead of taking a shower, had been spinning around, and had fallen on our tile floow.
Then she starts repeating herself.
DD: I don't remember what happened.
Me: You fell and hit your head.
DD: What day is it?
Me: Wednesday.
DD: Oh. (pause) I don't remember what happened.
Me: You fell.
DD: Oh. What day is it today?
Me: Laura's birhthday.
DD: We forgot to call her!
ME: No, we didn't. We just talked to her 30 minutes ago.
DD: We did?
Me: Yep.
DD: I don't remember what happened.

trust me, it went on much longer than this. i was FREAKING OUT, because i'd just seen a Grey's Anatomy ep where this lady gets in a car wreck and can't remember anything for more than 5 minutes.
DH still thought she was faking, so after I decided to take her in to the ER, he goes in and says, "Mommy's going to take you to the ER, and it's going to cost us a lot of money, so if you're faking, you'd better own up to it right now."

So, driving to the ER:
DD: I'm sorry this is going to cost us a lot of money.
me: It's ok, we'll figure it out.
dd: I don't remember what happened.
me" You hit your head on the floor.
me: oh. I'm sorry this is going to cost us a lot of money.

Went to Cy Fair ER. No parking spots. Not a good sign. So, go to north Cypress ER, which had 1. Blablabla, CT scan showed she had a fractured skull and a small subdural hematoma. Dr said it was so small he missed it the first time. He said she was fine, she was passing all the tests, but procedure called for her to be transferred to Texas Children's for 24 hours observation.
So, on a night where I had planned to go to bed early, I found myself driving behind the ambulance at 1 in the morning. I scooted home and threw some stuff in a bag, and we got to Texas Children's ER, where we waited until SIX O CLOCK IN THE BLESSED MORNING for the neurologist to show up. DD got one hour of sleep. I don't know if I got any, because there was no comfortable place for me to sleep.
We got admitted, and slept until about ten.
Her repeating herself had gone away by about 2 that morning, so basically thereafter was a little 24 hour vacation for her. she got to watch tv, do crafts, be on radio lollipop (an in-hospital radio station), check out books from the hosptial library...
When we checked out Friday, she was upset that we didn't get to go to the hospital hair salon....

so we get home, change clothes, and i take her to school, so she would be counted absent, since I knew we were going to Iowa a few days later, and she'd miss 4 days of school then...
DD1 won a prize at Radio Lollipop, a stuffed animal, so when DD2 saw it, she said, "I want to get sick and go to Texas Children's!"

Miss Me?

2008-10-20T20:45:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so dang long since I posted. I promise I 'll catch up with the ER ordeal, the trip to the Midwest, and everything.

Today, however, I would like to talk about little girls who declare that the only thing they want to be for Halloween is Atsoka from the Star Wars movie, and then when you spend $30 on a costume, decide they want to be something else. Too bad.

This is the same child, who after telling me she wanted a unicorn bedspread, and I bought a pretty used one on ebay, decided she really wanted a DRAGON bedspread. I told her to squint and pretend the unicorns were dragons.

My Morning

2008-09-29T12:14:00.002-05:00

Wake up. Wash face, etc. Go in and wake up DD2, which takes a while. Try to get her to figure out what she wants to dress as for Career Day, as she does not like any of my suggestions. Finally we decide on Large Animal Veterinarian: jeans, boots, white shirt, Daisy vest worn inside out. While I am helping her dress, the doorbell rings. It is the substitute house cleaner, showing up unannounced to clean the house. The house is not tidy. I tell her so, and let her in so she can start working.
Fine. I get the lunches made and packed, and DD2 and the dog and i start off for school. We get to school. She gets out, and I notice that her band new pair of jeans still has a size sticker on them. So I get out to take the sticker off, and the dog gets out and runs in the school.
Fine. I get the sticker off, and pick up the dog, and realize we forgot DD2's backpack.
Fine. I drive back home, and pick up the backpack. Which is dripping, because the water bottle leaked.
Fine. I dry everything off, get a substitute bag and lunch kit, and get everything put back together, and take it to the school.
Then come home and start tidying so the house cleaner can clean. Just got done.
Whew!

Career Day

2008-09-28T21:28:00.001-05:00

This is homecoming week at DD2's school, and to celebrate, the kids get to dress up each day. Tomorrow is "Career Day". Last time I talked to DD2 about her future, she said she wanted to be a mom. Guess I'll send her to school in her pajamas, with curlers in her hair....

Sunday

2008-09-28T20:08:00.002-05:00

The youth were acting out the parable of the talents today in all four services, so i had to be at church at 7:45. got done with that, then it was time to go listen to the band rehearse and make sure they were singing the same lyrics we had on the screens. the youth performed at the 9:30 sanctuary service and then rushed over to the worship center to do the same. the pastor had just introduced them, and they were still getting their microphones on.
after the 9:30 service, i went looking for the pastor who was supposed to assist in the 11:00 service, so we could go over the annoucements. Can't find him. Finally someone says, "Oh, he went to the other campus to preach, because Pastor Stephanie took sick."
Oh. I really need to give these people my cell # so they can LET ME KNOW WHEN THINGS LIKE THAT CHANGE.
Anyway. Went to eat a salad after church, then came home for about thirty minutes before I had to take DD1 to Girl Scouts, and DD2 to a bday party. after those, we were home for about 90 minutes before I had to take DD1 to an acolyte training meeting at church.
Who said Sunday was a day of rest?

Udpate

2008-09-26T11:10:00.002-05:00

The repair guy shoed up at 4:30, and had it fixed with 15 minutes. yay! so we had time to scoot to the grocery store and get the food, before Branon & Heather showed up. B&H really liked the dog, as they have two massive dogs of their own. I was tempted to let them have her....
I fell into bed around 10:30 and woke up at 7:30. whoops! the girls were, of course, watching TV in the living room.

me: what's your first responsibility when u wake up on a school day?
dd1: we thought it was Saturday!

The Way Things Are

2008-09-25T14:27:00.002-05:00

My friend the internationally known musician Branon Dempsey and his wife the lovely Heather are to come over tonight to watch the season premiere of "The Office".

And I have picture on my big TV, but no sound.

So I was on the phone for over an HOUR between being on hold and talking to the lady on tier 1 of help, and the guy in tier two. Soft booted it 3x. Unplugged and replugged it 2x. Nothing. I can watch and hear a DVD; I can hear a CD through the system. Just no TV.
So, praise God, a technician is coming between 2 and 4 to fix it, which means that by the time I got off the phone, I only had time to scoot to the gym, do the elliptical for 30 minutes and scoot back home 'cause I just knew the guy would show up right at two.

Nope.

When Is An Appropriate Time to Tell Your Mom Need An Orange To School?

2008-09-24T08:58:00.003-05:00

NOT thirty minutes before school starts.

7:45 this morning
DD1: Mom! Come look at the oranges!
(I walk in, and one of the them has some green mold on it. So I throw it away, and peel the remaining one and hand it to her.)
DD1: No, I need an orange with peel on it for school today!
Me: And you couldn't have told me that when we were at the grocery store YESTERDAY?
DD1: I forgot.
So, off we go to the grocery store.

Now, before you think I'm overindulgent, let me just say that she'd hurt her fingers Monday, and they still hurt yesterday morning, so I took her to the ER to get them Xrayed. She was thus late to school, and wasn't there when the teacher gave the assignment. Plus, we needed eggs and butter and stuff like that, so since i had to go anyway....)

What's One Sure Way to Find Your Cell Phone?

2008-09-24T05:47:00.004-05:00

Spend $60 to get a replacement phone.
I lost my cell phone around the 4th of this month, and after looking and looking, and waiting and waiting for someone to call me to tell me they found my phone, and going down to the YMCA TWICE to see if they had my phone, because I was almost certain that's where I left it, I finally gave up and went to the AT&T store yesterday and got a cheapie (ha!) replacement phone.
Twenty minutes after I got home from the phone store, the landline rings, and a lady who works at the Y called to say she saw the note they wrote the second time I went in looking for my phone, she had my phone, she'd had it since that day. She'd been keeping it safe for me since that day because she just knew she'd see me at the Y.
Which was kind, because she was afraid someone would have stolen it if she'd turned it in.
But still. Over two weeks? She kept it for over two weeks without trying to call me? Or leaving a note at the Y saying, "If someone comes in looking for their phone, I have it"?
So now I get to go see if I can get a refund on my $60 phone.

Today

2008-09-22T21:13:00.002-05:00

the morning was kind of low key. I tidied the kitchen from last night, and then did a couple loads of laundry.
In the afternoon, we went to the laundromat to wash DD1's and my comforters, ate lunch, picked up Sophie, went to a local jumping place and played, went to the Y to see if they had my MIA cell phone (no), dropped Sophie off, went to volleyball, came home and printed out a script, went to youth drama at church where I rehearsed the dramatic reading of the parable of the talents for Sunday, and handed out the script for the next week, went out for ice cream to commemorate the end of the hurrication, and then came home.

ZZZZZZZ

2008-09-22T08:54:00.001-05:00

Slept ok last night, but my body has decided rain or shine, fatigue or not, 6:30 is the time to wake up. it doesn't matter if i fall asleep at 11 pm. or 2 a.m., I'm awake by 7.

Whooo Dogies, Am I Tired

2008-09-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

I did not sleep well last night, then, got up this morning and went to church/work at 8:30. After our last service ended at 12:02, the musicians and tech people from Cypress Bible Church, a church down the street that still has no power, came in and started setting up. They had services in our Worship Center at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. So I was at church from 8:37 a.m. to 5:47 p.m.
Their two services were mirror ones of each other, but it was cool to see how other churches schedule their services. Their music was awesome. Still, about 3 p.m., I just started yawning.

DD1 has school on Tuesday. DD2's school still has no power, so TBD.

Awesome Quote From My Friend Cris

2008-09-19T20:55:00.001-05:00

My friend Cris has parts of her roof missing. Here is a quote from her blog:

here is the running dialogue in my neighborhood . . . . .

"so which house is yours? - or - can you give me directions to your house?"

"sure - turn left at the clear tarp, then turn right at the roof with the plywood showing on the left side, go straight until you pass the house with the tree in the living room and we are the third blue tarp on the left."

Post-Hurricane, Day 6

2008-09-18T20:45:00.008-05:00

It's almost a week since the hurricane hit. Life for us is pretty much back to normal, except the kids being out of school, and electricity being a hit or miss proposition. I went to get lunch for everyone today. Jason's was closed. Boston Market was closed. DH wanted a hot coffee to clear up the congestion in his chest, so I went to a nearby strip mall where there was a Starbucks and a Philly Cheesesteak place. Got the sandwiches first (only beef and small size buns available), and then walked 4 doors down to the Starbucks. Closed.
The girls and I wanted to see Fly Me to The Moon this afternoon. Willowbrook 24 and Stantikos were closed. Drove on Highway 6 (2 traffic lights out) to the Rave theater, which had just lost power an hour previously. Drove to Studio Movie Grill, which hadn't received their copy of Igor yet due to the storm. As a last resort, we went to Cypress Cinemark, and saw the 5:00 showing of Igor. (Which was cute, but not charming.) The guy who got us our popcorn said his power just came on today.

If...

2008-09-18T20:45:00.005-05:00

..I owned a grocery store, and I was closing early because of the power being out across half the city, I would put a sign stating so on the ENTRANCE, not in little letters on the EXIT.
And if I had one of the those little signs you can program to say different things, I would have it say what time i was closing, instead of letting the customers drive in, park, get to the doors, and then find the doors locked.
I'm just sayin'.

Progress

2008-09-18T20:45:00.002-05:00

The bedroom is organized. We have gone thru their clothes, the hall closet, and the seasonal decorations. DD1 had a great time putting up the fall decorations.
We ventured out today and headed to Half Price Books to sell the two boxes of books they had outgrown as well as my old LPs. $13.
Then we went over to a secondhand kids' clothing store to sell the clothes they had outgrown. $10.
We ate at Panda Express, and then went to Best Buy to get a DVD player for the toy room.
The frustrating thing about traveling is half of the traffic lights are out, so there's quite a backup of traffic. Going out at night, as I did last night, is a bit scary, as whole sections of streets are dark. A lot of businesses are closing early.

A Week Off

2008-09-17T13:38:00.002-05:00

DH and the girls are all off this week, because power is still off in much of the city. We feel so blessed to have had power since Sunday, since many of my friends in Spring and The Woodlands are still without power.
Gas is in short supply, so we are not going anywhere. Milk and meat and other perishables are also nowhere to be found nearby, so last night we had potato pancakes, spaetzle, sauerkraut, and applesauce.
Anyway, we are redeeming this time of enforced downtime in organizing. The girls and I have completely gone through the toy room, throwing out trash, and bagging up toys they have outgrown to give to GoodWill. We almost have their bedroom done.
Today I plan to go through the bags of clutter in the garage. The weather is beautiful here, in the 70s, with a cool breeze.
Continue to pray for those without homes, without power, without hope.

Ike, Ike Baby

2008-09-14T19:27:00.002-05:00

We are fine. There was no school or work on Friday, and I spent the morning buying some last minute necessities, and the rest of the day catching up on laundry and dishes. In the evening, I filled ziploc bags with water and put them in the freezer, to keep the stuff cold once the power went out. Which it did about 1 a.m. We had cleared DH's closet floor, and my closet floor, and put sofa cushions down. So we slept in there that night. We got high winds and rain.
We walked around the neighborhood Saturday afternoon, and there are some downed fences and uprooted trees and missing shingles, but nothing major.
The biggest inconvenience was the lack of A/C. I got so hot last night, I went into the van for a while to cool off.
I went to church this morning. We had a 9:30 service in the Worship Center with acoustic guitar and candlelight. The 11:00 service we had in the foyer, which had lots of natural lights. The church's generator provided A/C for us.
Drove around a bit afterward -- some listing street signs, hanging street lights, and so on.
Came home and cooked up some rapidly defrosting hamburger meat. The power came back on at 1 p.m.
We are praising God for His protection.

Oh.

2008-09-11T16:17:00.003-05:00

I hardly ever pay attention to the forecast, so when my mom called me Wednesday and asked me if i was all packed, i hesitated.
For the hurricane, she said.
There's a hurricane coming? I asked
Yes. Ike. Straight your way.
Oh.

So, DH and I have decided to tough this one out, our 20 hour exodus from Rita a few years ago still fresh in our minds. We have plenty of water, and food, and we are hunkering down and staying. Since we're from the midwest, this will be our first hurricane we've stayed for. I don't count Allison, because I had just had a baby, who was eating every 90 minutes round the clock, and I don't remember much of that period of my life...

A Bit of History, Courtesy of DD2

2008-09-10T22:28:00.001-05:00

Me; Who was the president responsible for helping to free the African American slaves?
DD2: George Lincolnton!

A Review of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"

2008-09-10T09:32:00.001-05:00

The theater the girls and I sat in was 16 acoustical ceiling tiles wide, and 11 acoustical ceiling tiles deep.

Little Blue-Haired Lady

2008-09-04T16:37:00.003-05:00

I have not many years left in my 40s, and so I have determined that if I'm going to do something freaky to my appearance, I'd better do it now. That said, I went to Sally's Beauty Supply the other day, and got some temporary blue highlighting stuff. I was going to do permanent, but apparently you have to bleach your hair first for that. So, it looks like blue mascara, and in the morning, I just put a few subtle blue streaks in my hair. It is awesome. Gives a whole new meaning to the expression "little blue-haired lady."

A Blazing New Sales Technique

2008-09-04T16:34:00.002-05:00

(phone rings)
Me: Hello?
Guy on Phone: Hi, this is Chad, and I'd like to offer you an extended warranty on your Honda.
Me: OK.
GOP: It covers blablablablabla, and all you'd have to pay would be $250 upfront, and then $180 a month for 18 months, and then nothing more ever. How does that sound?
Me: Well, I'd have to talk to my husband...
(Guy hangs up.)

What a way to make a sale! I wonder how many people he talks to on the phone who make the decision WITHOUT discussing it with their spouse? Seriously.

Facebook

2008-09-03T17:28:00.002-05:00

DH decided to get a FB page since he'd heard me talk about it. However, I am the one that added his photo, and added some friends to his page.
"He and I" are currently playing Scrabble and Scramble on FB. I put the quotes on because he despises word games. So, I log on as him, play a turn, log out, then log on as me and play a turn. And guess what! I'm winning!

Today

2008-09-03T17:26:00.002-05:00

Did the dishes and unloaded/loaded the dishwasher while i talked to my sis and then Deanna.
Then I loaded up the car with dirty clothes and went to the laundromat down the street. I had to go there anyway because one of the mammals we live with decided to use DD1's bedspread as a urinal. So, I decided to go ahead and get a few loads done at the same time. It was nice. I got to read during the washing and drying, and then I got to chat with the gal that worked there while I folded.

Eek!

2008-08-28T18:08:00.003-05:00

So, I take Calista to the vet today to get a couple of teeth extracted, and then this afternoon I take Bella in for her physical. We decided to have some allergy tests run on Bella because she's itchy all the time. And she has yeast in her ears. And she needs special hypoallergenic food. And she needs some medicine for a few days, and ....EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS LATER, I'm walking out the door.

Watch Out for Women With Knives

2008-08-28T10:22:00.002-05:00

So, yesterday, in my attempt to be a good helpmeet and mom, I got out some frozen pork chops for my family to eat while I was entertaining. And two of them were stuck together with plastic in the middle. And I used a knife to separate them. And the knife slipped and sliced my thumb.
Fine. So I put a big ole bandaid on my thumb, as the Barbie one didn't want to stay.
Then, later, I got out a Southern Living serving dish, which I discovered the hard way was chipped on the side. And so now I have bandaids on FOUR FINGERS.
Sigh. This is why I don't cook. It's dangerous.

Aaaaaahhh

2008-08-28T09:08:00.002-05:00

I have been looking forward to today with much anticipation. Monday, school started for DD1, and I went and volunteered at the school, so bzbzb. Tuesday, I had meetings all morning until 12:30, ate lunch, and then went and got my car tags renewed. By the time that was done, it was time to pick up DD2. Yesterday, I was having company over for a CABi party, so I spent all day getting the house company ready, and doing laundry. That last bit was a mistake, as laundry is a big ole time sucker, and I still ended up putting dirty dishes in a laundry basket and hiding them in the pantry at 6:55.
Anyway. Today. Glorious Today. Aside from having to get the DDs ready early, and leaving the house at 7:15 so we could drop Calista off at the vet by 7:30 a.m, it is a wonderful day. I don't HAVE to do anything. I will probably continue with the laundry, and work on my taxes (I KNOW. Shut up.) but I don't HAVE to.

Today

2008-08-24T22:48:00.003-05:00

Church, Arby's for lunch, waited for a while at the AT&T store to get a new phone to replace the one that went thru the washer, then helped Debbie & Mark finish packing up their house. There's only a bit left in the garage now, and they are out of there!

Came home around 7, and DH cooked! Nothing like coming home to a hot meal.

If...

2008-08-24T22:37:00.001-05:00

...your pastor comes back from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and gives you a chocolate bar from there, don't eat two squares and then put the rest of the bar in your purse, and then leave your purse in your car all day while you help your friends move in 90 degree weather.
I'm just sayin'.

Olympian Returns Home

2008-08-23T08:30:00.003-05:00

Jonathan Horton, the Olympic gymnast, lives 7 houses down from me. He got home last night, and a bunch of us welcomed him home with flags and signs. We got his autograph, and DD2 got her pic taken with him. It was very exciting, tho, DD2 i think was more excited about the dogs.
"Mommy, take my picture with this dog! OK, now i'm going to find another dog, and you take my picture with that dog!"

Funny/Not So Funny Letter From My Insurance Company

2008-08-22T08:36:00.004-05:00

You may remember that I need to get a BRCA test, a genetic test that will determine if I have either the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genetic mutation. A positive result would mean my changes of getting cervical cancer, uterine cancer, or a recurrance of BC are high.
The test costs $3,000.
So, a few months ago, I called my insurance company to see if they'd cover it. Yes, they said, but we need a letter of medical necessity from your doctor.
I called my onc a few times and left messages telling him he needed to write the letter. No response, of course, so at my next appointment, he said, "'Ave you 'ad ze BRCA test yet?"
No, quoth I, have you written the letter of medical necessity yet?
He looked confused. Of course, the man goes thru nurses like nobody's business. I think he's on his 6th one since I started going there in February of '07. So, he scrawls a letter on some letterhead, and hands it to me. I fax it to the insurance company.
I get a CC of a letter sent to Dr. Casimir. The insurance company couldn't read his writing (surprise!), so they sent their response to the 1st doctor listed on the letterhead. I called Dr. Gressot's nurse, who talked to Dr. Casimir's nurse, who of course had no idea what letter she was talking about.
I call the insurance company again, and have them re-send the letter to Dr. Gressot.
Then, two days ago, I get this letter from the insurance company, edited to avoid boredom:

We have completed our review of your request for coverage of BRCA test. Based on the information reviewed, we are pleased to inform you that coverage is available. All covered services are subject to screening for allowable charges. The final allowable charges will be determined when the bill is submitted and will be based on the actual services provided. Please note this letter does not guarantee payment. Benefit payment is based on the provisions of your benefit plan.

Huh?

notable Events of Today

2008-08-21T21:03:00.002-05:00

A local furniture store is closing its doors. They were closed the past three days to slash! their! prices!
So, DD1 and I went down there about 9:30 and waited with about 100 other people for their doors to open. I'd visited this store about a month ago and saw a desk I liked. The price at that time? $449. The doors open, and we head to the desks. The price of the desk now? $450. Wow! What a bargain! Needless to say, we didn't buy anything.

This evening was Meet the Teacher at DD1's school. This school has between 500 and 800 students. It has about 45 parking spots. They invited all students to show up tonight between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to meet their teachers. Needless to say, DD1, DD2 and I rode our bikes....

Trip to Kansas

2008-08-16T13:02:00.003-05:00

So, I didn't post while we were in Kansas, because my overactive imagination is convinced that there is a band of burglars just waiting for the slightest hint that we are out of town to come in and steal all our stuff.
Anyway. The trip went well. We left Houston Sunday the 3rd about two hours after I'd wanted to, as I had to finish packing, stop the paper, tidy the house, etc. I was so tired that at one point we stopped at the Sonic in Calvert and I got a Diet Dr. Pepper AND an iced coffee.
We stayed at the Omni Mandaylay in Irving. I always go to Hotwire.com to make our hotel reservations because you can stay at nice hotels for cheap. They have a whirlpool (aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh), and free stuff for the kids. We ordered room service that night, and I had this vegetable ratatouille en croute that was fabulous.
(I have morphed into an almost total vegetarian, for a lot of reasons: the phytochemicals that fight cancer, the lack of fat in vegetables, and the unwillingness to cause another being to die so I could eat.)
Anyway, Monday the 4th we met Emily and her grils at the mall, and walked around, and ate at RainForest Cafe. After lunch, we hit the road.
During our trip, we went to the zoo and Cowtown. I'd post pix of cowtown, but i forgot my camera at my mom's house. At the zoo, there was the peacock that was stalking my niece Laura, and another blue crested bird in the rain forest house that freaked her out. So, being the supportive aunt that I am, I bought her a glass figurine of the blue-crested bird in the gift shop...

Assumptions

2008-08-16T12:59:00.002-05:00

I'm going to quit envying other people's marriages, i swear. first there was my friend M from church, who used to do lots of drama and stuff with her husband. they are divorcing. now, one of my best friends from high school, who has been married over 20 years, and they used to go camping and do all kinds of stuff with their kids, is divorcing her husband.
i guess that old adage about not comparing someone's outsides with yr insides is true.

I. Am. So. PRETTY

2008-08-13T23:31:00.001-05:00

next year? if i talk about taking a vacation just before school starts, will y'all just slap me? we got back from KS Monday, Tuesday was a nonstop day, with a meeting from 9 to 3, then meet the teacher, and Jillian's last blast of summer. It ended with me going to 6 stores at 8:30 p.m. trying to find those last bits of school supplies. I had bought 80% of the supplies a month ago, and had separated them into two bags, one for each daughter.
So, this morning, which bag do I pick up and take to school? THE WRONG ONE.

Too Soon

2008-08-09T21:53:00.002-05:00

DD2 starts school WEDNESDAY. I'm not ready! Where did the summer go? The day b4 school starts, I always let them pick something fun to do. The problem with DD2 is that she can't make up her mind. She'll say she wants to go to the Aquarium Downtown, which is a bit expensive, so I'll tell her she can't take a friend, and then she'll say she wants to go bowling and bring some friends. Then ten minutes later, she'll want to go to Build-A-Bear....I'll keep u posted what the final decision is...

Funny Comment

2008-08-07T00:16:00.001-05:00

DD2 wakes up the other day with crazy hair. DD1 takes one look at her and says, "Mrs. Frankenstein called. She wants her hair back."

tonight

2008-07-28T00:56:00.002-05:00

DH bought the girls a new movie at Target yesterday, and this evening, he got it out so they could watch it. He asked DD1 where DD2 was, and she replied that DD2 had been sent to bed early, because she had not been listening to Mommy.
DH: That's weird. It's normally you who gets sent to bed early.
DD!: I know. It's been a long summer, Daddy.

So You Think You Can Dance (spoiler)

2008-07-24T22:32:00.001-05:00

R U Kidding Me?
I was SURE Will would win the whole thing. Obviously the most talented of the bunch. and he gets voted off? What?

Supper

2008-07-24T22:25:00.002-05:00

Fixed (read: heated frozen) lasagna for the fam, and made them fresh green beans sauteed in onions and bacon fat.
I had a bit of the above, and braised organic radishes. Mmmmm.

Today

2008-07-24T18:03:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was spent at home, because it was supposed to rain. Did it? No.
Today, we went to the Y so I could Zumba, then lunch, Best Buy to buy a new remote to replace the one that is MIA, and then bowling.
I love bowling with little kids. their technique usually consists of throwing the ball like a shotput, or rolling it from the floor. we played two games. the first one i got 2 strikes in a row, so i beat them handily, the second game? couldn't get a strike to save my soul. i ended up with 70 points. each of the girls -- demonstrating the technique described above -- got a strike and a spare. DD2 got 120 points and beat us all. she was very proud.

A(nother) Post for Ladies Only

2008-07-21T22:33:00.001-05:00

Just when I was about ready to throw my Tampax out, looks like I'll be needing them again. Sigh.

This W/E

2008-07-21T22:26:00.002-05:00

The girls and I went on a mini-vacation. We went to the circus Friday afternoon at Reliant stadium (in the south part of town -- about 30 minutes drive from our house), and then went to the dog show next door to the circus.It was nice. We ate supper Friday night at a Mexican restaurant near the stadium that had a fabulous spinach enchilada with fresh tomatillo sauce, and a portobello mushroom taco. There was a little band playing in the restaurant, and all the kids danced to the music. It was fun.
We stayed at a hotel right by Reliant, and went back to the dog show the next day after the girls swam and I worked out. Got back home around 4 in the afternoon. Then at 6, Debbie and I went to our friend Amy's wedding reception. She got married in the Virgin Islands a couple of weeks ago.
After the reception, we went to see Mamma Mia, where we unashamedly sang along with the movie. I love ABBA.

In Case You Ever Wondered...

2008-07-15T14:10:00.006-05:00

Some of you have asked me if DH has a hobby beyond playing World of Warcraft, and the asnwer is yes. He paints miniatures. But what, you ask, do these miniatures look like, ChemoGirl?
Well, now you can see for yourself. DH has joined the blogosphere with a blog devoted to some of the miniature zombies he's painted.
http://miniaturesandmayhem.blogspot.com/

Recap

2008-07-15T13:57:00.002-05:00

Sunday, did the church thing, and just puttered around the house.
Monday, i had DD2 try on all of her uniforms to see which ones were too little, and then dropped off the too-little ones at the school for the uniform sale on Friday. Went looking at desks, as I need a new one. I don't have anywhere to lay stuff on my current desk, as it is about 30" wide.
Today, woke up this morning, and opened the bedroom door to discover that apparently the dog did not like us shutting the door on her, as she had left a large pile of her displeasure. went to meetings at church in the morning, and then came home and heated a frozen margherita pizza with a cracker crust for lunch.

Video from the Rink

2008-07-13T23:28:00.003-05:00

Today

2008-07-10T23:25:00.002-05:00

we went ice skating at a local mall. The first half hour was spent with me beside DD2 as she inched her way around the perimeter of the rink, holding on to the wall with both hands for dear life.
Then, she got braver, and the second go-round was spent only holding on with one hand.
By the third go-round, she was brave enough to hold my hand and let go of the wall every now and then. I was so proud of her, especially since the first time we went ice skating --Christmas Eve of 06 --- she fell as she stepped onto the ice, and steadfastly refused to go back on the ice. She just sat there for an hour and a half, watching DD1 and I skate.

Yesterday

2008-07-10T12:09:00.002-05:00

was quiet. I did some scrapbooking and reading, ran some errands....

Looong Meeting

2008-07-08T16:00:00.002-05:00

We have a worship planning meeting every Tuesday from ~9:30 to 11. Last week, the pastor announces we'll have our meeting the UMC in Waller (abt 30 min from here). OK. So I arranged to have a babysitter come from 9 to 12.
Noooo. Turns out the meeting is supposed to go until two, as we will be talking about the themes for the next several months. The pastor said he said that, but i didn't hear it, so i had to call the babysitter, and see if it was okay that i wouldn't be home until 2:30...
By the time we left the meeting, and loaded the bus to come back to Houston, my brain was full, so I read on the trip back. Which made me carsick.
I'm going to lie down now.

Toxic Well in Conroe

2008-07-07T10:01:00.002-05:00

I'm not a very "cause"y kind of girl, but this post from mamasource.net concerned me:

The Texas Enviromental Commission has given permission to Texcom to build a toxic injection well site on Creighton Road in Conroe. This is a huge mistake that can have huge negative implications. The wells will go through our drinking water aqueducts that provide water to 54 counties. PLEASE take a moment to inform yourself on this issue at stopthetoxicwells.com and sign the petition and fight this to stop. The last hope to have this from getting any further in the process is public outcry. There will be one last public hearing up in Austin (date to be announced, stay informed through the above website). The surrounding counties are fighting a silent opposition to this project. Silence will not stop this, we need to use our voices and oppose this whole heartily, unless we want to see childhood cancer rates rise and home values plummet. PLEASE, PLEASE pass this information on and go to www.stopthetoxicwells.com

Apparently this will affect 54 counties, with things like antifreeze seeping into our water...