Day 241

I am really tired lately so have not been up for writing in my blog. My Ohio trip on Dec. 1 was really fun but my sinus infection interfered with my enjoyment at times. Sometimes I felt like crawling into bed but put a smile on my face. Sorta how I feel today. We had a snow day on the Thursday we were set to fly out at 5:30 p.m. Karen called and asked if I wanted to go early to try to get on an earlier flight “stand by”. After getting there 3 hours earlier we found out that there wasn’t an earlier flight and no such thing as “stand by” anymore. So we went to the bar for 1 cocktail. We got on the plane in a good mood and left snowy K.C. for sunny Ohio and no snow. I was the MG (Mystery Guess) and Karen’s sister and niece tried to guess for 3 weeks who was coming. Even Clayton (Beth’s 6 y/o son) got in on the guessing. When they pulled up to pick us up at the airport, I hid behind a pole with Karen pretended to be tending to a small dog in my carry-on. Beth and Jane about had a hemorrhage and were so disappointed until I walked from behind the pole. Then they were excited and Jane kept saying, “Oh, I am so glad it is you!” I was really feeling the love.
Friday we went to various shops and a mall. We ate a place called the Rusty Bucket, which had delicious fried dill pickles. I ordered Cincinnati chili (chili on top of spaghetti), which was good but too filling. I met Karen and Jane’s cousin who was very fun and nice. There was a couple of times that I started fading because of the grossest junk coming out of the back of my throat and causing a bad taste and stinging of my throat. That night we sat around and visited and laughed. We watched Christmas Vacation which Jane said she had never seen! It is hilarious no matter how many times you see it. Clayton was just a doll all day long and it made me long for the simpler days when Kevin was 6.
Saturday we went to Target and then Jane, Beth, Clayton and Matt’s (Beth’s husband) mother went to a concert in the late afternoon. Karen drove Jane’s car and gave me the tour of her hometown including homes she grew up in. At one point I got a little nervous because the area wasn’t looking too safe and I asked, “is this where you lived?” She had to admit that she got a little LOST but didn’t want to alarm me. I had already been alarmed a couple of times riding with Beth when she would drive with her knee on the highway. Then later that night we picked up Olive Garden lasagna and salad for dinner. When we going home I asked if we had to get on the highway again, I said surely there are back roads. Karen told me to quit being a baby and shut my eyesJ Instead I called LaVerne and was chatting away until Karen’s lane ended and she was on the inside of the area blocked off by barrels. She was able to get back on the highway- so all was good. Saturday night we stayed up late playing a game called “Scene It”. It is a trivia game about TV shows and movies. It was fun. Sunday we left about 1 pm to catch our flight so it went very quickly.
The workweek goes by in a blur and then thank god for weekends. Last Friday night Rick was napping when I got home and I fell into bed too. I still wasn’t feeling well and I slept for 2 hours straight. We went to Granite City, just the 2 of us, and had a great dinner. Then we went to Oak Park and picked up a few gifts. Saturday I went to a cookie exchange and took cookies that I paid Don P. to make. He did a great job and they looked and tasted wonderful. He sold several dozen of the cookies and is using the money to help a surprised needy person. He usually just sits in a Walmart parking lot in the center of the city and then when he sees someone who appears down on their luck he hand them $100 or more. See Erica there are benefits to looking “homeless”.
Sunday we went to the church Christmas program. It was AMAZING. It was like a Broadway musical. We went with the E’s and I think all enjoyed it except K. He suddenly remembered something that he desperately needed to do for school- 9:30 on a Sunday night. Don’t want to talk about that anymore.
This week Pam had a get-together for the office yesterday and it was fun with good food. I get home and have a yelling match with K- enough about that. I am so tired today because I was up at 2:45-4 a.m. wide-awake! I don’t know if it is stress or hormonal imbalance, but whatever it sucks. I could have called Erica as she was getting off work- but I wasn’t in a mood to talk. I am going to the doctor for this on Friday- seeing if I need more hormones. Tonight I have a nurse’s Xmas party but I don’t know if I will go unless I get a good nap in.
Things will look up when we are out of school next week.