Lazy day....

    + = My dinner tonight.

 

I obviously couldn't find a "chicken soup" graphic, so I compromised. My soup is simmering on the stove right now and smells wonderful. I managed to stay in bed this morning....even watched a movie. Little Darlings was on....remember that one? From 1980 starring Kristy McNichols and Tatum O'Neil. I had never seen it, so I figured I'd rest while enjoying a blast from the past. It was pretty good. I love watching old movies like that, trying to remember things from my childhood....striped knee socks, silky running shorts, and the oh-so-fashionable barettes wrapped with ribbon. You would wear them on either side of your feathered bangs....lovely! LOL

I have just finished cleaning up the place, doing a load of dishes, and I'm going to do the ironing. I'm feeling slightly better than yesterday, which is good. Tonight is supposed to be "birthday shopping night", although I'm not sure if it is still on, as Betsy will be babysitting into the evening. I was hoping that they would go, and that dh would take them out to dinner so that I wouldn't have to cook. But, I'm looking forward to my soup.

My grandmother stopped by today. She is on a mission for cheese. While we were in North Carolina, she bought the best cheese....it was white and soft and mild and creamy....and we didn't save the freaking label. I am thinking it was gouda, but not the smoked kind. We both went out on Monday and bought what we thought was the same kind....but it wasn't. Wee one took one bite and said, "Uh, mom, that isn't it." *Sigh. So now I have a $5.95 block of cheese that the girls don't like. I'm sure dh will eat it....he loves cheese. In any case, Nana is out shopping right now, hoping to find it. Of course, she is getting on in years, so if she does manage to find it, she will either A.) eat it all and throw away the wrapper or B.) eat it all, throw away the wrapper and forget she bought/ate it. I am going to try the gourmet shop and see if they carry it. Of course to shop there, I'm going to have to go on a day that I feel good, as you have to be dressed up to go in there. I will probably have to park in the adjacent "radio shack" parking lot, as I do not drive a Lexus/Beamer/Cadillac suv, and I doubt they would appreciate the humor of my Homer Simpson antennae topper. I don't usually shop there....obviously....but I'll bet they have the cheese I'm looking for.  I should go in and ask where the "Kraft singles" are....that'll get 'em talking!

Boy, the house is quiet right now. I should be lying down, relaxing with a hot cup of tea or coffee to soothe my throat. I think I will do just that....

I feel like crud....

Boy, I have felt like crud all day. I went from waking up tired, to exhausted. I hate when I get like this. It's like walking around in a daze....constantly trying to stay awake. I did manage to clean and do some sewing. I finished my ironing and the girls....yet have a pile of dh's to do. I can't rest comfortably if I know I have work to do. I was looking forward to spending the evening in bed, but I couldn't with that dang ironing staring at me. I still have quite a bit left, but at least I started it. Dinner was spinach quiche (a new recipe), maple sausage, and strawberries and blueberries. I have to say, although I didn't feel hungry, it sure was good. The girls actually had two pieces each, which surprised me. They said the recipe was a keeper. I did take pics....and they laughed at me....but I'm too dang tired to post them.

Wee one had a friend spend the night last night....and she didn't leave until after 5 this afternoon. I do believe she was here for 24 hours. Tomorrow Betsy is babysitting for them all day, and wee one will probably be over there. WooHoo....a freebie day during the summer. Gotta love those....

I am still trying to get used to the routine again, after being on vacation. I still feel a bit of the "relaxation glow", yet know that I need to get back into the groove. In about 2 weeks, wee one will get her 4th grade class assignment. I can not believe she is going to be a 4th grader. Where has the time gone? I have her kindergarten picture on the fridge....as well as a picture of she and Betsy when they were 3 and 9. I can't believe my babies are getting so big. I miss those days when mommy was the center of their worlds. I suppose every mother goes through baby withdrawl....it just hurts so much.

Okay, enough of the whining. I've got to get some sleep here. Goodnight....

Pics of the trip....

Here are a few of the pictures I took on our vacation. Upon viewing them, I have come to the conclusion that I am NOT a photographer. Blurry, dark....*sigh. Here's hoping the ones I took on the regular camera turned out better.

I think I have a cold. Who gets a cold in 100 degree weather? I got up this morning and was thinking, why am I so dang tired? Why does my head hurt, my sinuses pound and my eyes feel grainy? The feeling has lasted all day, and I've been sneezing too. However, I managed to clean the house, do 5 loads of wash, go to the post office, pick up my mom's car so dh can take it in tomorrow to get the air fixed, go grocery shopping, fix dinner and now, wee one is having a friend spend the night. At least I know she will not be bored this evening. Betsy is in her room watching a movie, and dh is sacked out in front of the tv. I still have a mound of bills to pay, a checkbook to balance and clothes to put away. The vacation is definately over.

I can't believe it will be July in 2 days. That means on Saturday I will have to change my "about me" section. I will be 35. A true "mid-thirties" woman. My last year to check the little "25-35" box on surveys. The age I thought was so old when I was a teen. It's the age of hair dye, botox and the first signs of the dreaded "bleeding lipstick lips". I will be five years from 40, ten years from 45 and fifteen years from the big 50. It's amazing that I am getting older....because I don't feel it. I'm not complaining, mind you....just wondering where the time went. My teen years are gone....my babies are growing up....I'll have a 20 year old in four years for pete's sake. Well, okay, there's something to be happy about. I'll only be 39 with a 20 year old....lol.

John was just in Betsy's room, speaking in a hushed voice. I am assuming he is questioning her about what I would like as a gift. You would think the man I've been married to for 16 years would know what I like by now. Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder....I never have trouble buying him gifts. I suppose that is because I pay attention. How freaking hard is that? Oh well....I suppose I should just be happy he remembered.

 

I'm home....and I'm soooo sleepy....

Not even this cup of joe could perk me up right now. (This graphic is for you Cheezy....I know it makes you laugh!)

We got home around 3:20, and left at 8:00am. Not bad since we were following the guys, pulling a trailer with four motorcycles strapped on. The vacation was wonderful. I feel so refreshed, although I am tired. It is strange how you can ride in a car all day long, and still be sleepy. However, we did stay up till midnight every night, so that might have something to do with it.

The drive home was beautiful....and sad. I always hate leaving my aunt. She is one of those people that just shine. You can't help but love her from the moment you meet her. She has no enemies, and everyone is a friend. She's alone now, as her creep of a husband left her in the midst of her recouperation. I am always in awe of her, and how she handles things. Her knees don't bend, her broken elbow was never mended, so it hangs at a 45 degree angle, and she can't touch her head with that hand....yet she travels alone to her clients offices and carries on with a will that inspires. She flies and drives hundreds of miles....over mountains and back. She has many friends, yet somehow seems so alone. I love the time we spend with her....and it makes it hard to leave. But, we go every other month or so, so that gives us all something to look forward to.

Why is it that the clothes in our suitcases seem to multiply on the trip home? I have tons of laundry....where did it all come from? Well, I have some clue....wee one's idea of unpacking is grabbing every stitch of clothing in her suitcase, and dumping it in the laundry....it's so much easier than folding it and putting it away. She had outfits that she hadn't worn....yet they are mixed in with dirty stuff that I am way too lazy to pick through.

Dh is watching tv and snoozing. He pulled his back loading or unloading the bikes, we aren't sure which, and is whining about it. I suppose that means I will have to go in there, open the Tylenol, get a glass of water, and place the pills in his lilly white hand so he can take them. Why is it that he would rather sit there and complain for a half hour, rather than take the 20 seconds to get the medicine? Oh yes....he's a freaking MAN.

Betsy is already at a friends house. She unpacked, swam for three minutes with her sister, took a shower and left. Oh to have that energy again. Although, after being gone for 6 days, I just want to be home....in my own house....in my own bed....even if it is in the most freaking hot state in the lower 48.

Audio entry

I can't sleep....

I can not believe I just wrote a huge entry....and it wouldn't let me save it. That's it....I'm going to bed.

Cul-de-sac races....

::imagnine a picture of a car::

We have had a very full day today....we went to the mall and shopped for a bit, did some sight seeing, had lunch at a Chinese buffet (jealous, Sully???? lol), and then off to some more shops. However, we were home in time for the car races that are held every night here in the cul-de-sac (cds from here on in, as it's a long word to type....)

My aunt lives in the end condo in a cds, and there is quite a group of people that live here. S is a lovely woman of 73, never married and had a government job all her life. K lives alone, and has never been married. His mother just passed away at the age of 89, and he is going to move into her condo and sell his. He has a schnauzer who is his "baby", and he takes him inside when the bigger dogs come out, with the promise of tv and treats. P was married for over 20 years and is now "playing for the other team". He is a character who is recouperating from a recent heart attack....sitting in his chair drinking gin and 7-up. Margaret is in the nursing home for a bit, after a fall that broke her hip, right after surgery, and David who was given 0% chance survival rate because ther were not an available liver....until one morning when they got the call that one had been found, and it was a match. He is healthy and happy now. And then there is my aunt who survived rolling her suv, being thrown out at 70 mph, suffering massive closed head injuries, 8 rods in one leg, 5 in the other, a broken neck, elbow, arm, lost her spleen....yet was walking and traveling with her work less than a year after her miraculous survival. (her doctor's words...."she shouldn't be here") She just recently fell and broke her arm just above and below the fused broken elbow, but dang it, she is dealing.

The group in the cds is known as the "survivors". Every evening garages open, lawn chairs come out, and they sit....laughing and talking, petting the various dogs and cats....and racing the cars. These are little matchbox-like cars that can be charged and run by remote control. As soon as we arrived, my aunt said wee one had to get one to be a part of the nightly fun....so off to walmart we went. Armed with a silver pickup racer, wee one has managed to beat all the guys....they love her. P said to me tonight, "That child just loves life, doesn't she?" They call the little piles of dirt the "sand dunes", the pebbles are "boulders", the pile of sticks and leaves is the "rain forest", my aunt's driveway is "Mt. Everest", and the pot hole is the "grand canyon". We went out around 7, and came in at 9:30.

It's like living in the past here. Sitting around, talking about the neighbors....their lives, kids, work. All of these people take care of one another. They actually care what happens. P went in to refresh his drink, and was gone over 15 minutes. K went to make sure he was okay, we wanted to make sure he didn't have another heart attack. It makes you feel good to see people that actually care about each other....that don't run into their homes and slam the doors at the end of the day, trying to avoid human contact.

I don't know if it's the neighborhood, or the mountains, or (more realistically), the fact that these people have all survived illness and accidents....and realize that life is for living. Whatever it is, it's fun and it's heartwarming....and it's a blessing to see.