Even my eyes are tired

No bird pictures today. That I'm posting. I did take pictures because he's just so cute!

I'm appalled and so, so sad about the massacre by the US soldier in Afghanistan. There are no words...

We've had such a mild winter in Maryland. A record winter. I think we had 2 dustings of snow and above average temps for months. I've loved it. I feel like we're well into Spring, but it hasn't even started. The bare trees have a hint of color. The cherry trees are in bloom and the pear trees are ready to pop. We have so many pear trees around here; forests of them.

I tackled such a big project today. I have 7 huge yew bushes that I planted 18.5 years ago. I've trimmed them twice a year (Rob did it the last two times!) to keep them a manageable size. My friend Lisa told me years ago I should take them out, but the thought of that big job was too daunting. Rob suggested we remove the the 3 that line my driveway and I agreed. He planned to borrow a chainsaw and have us work on it soon. What did I do today? I used loppers and cut them down to stumps. Then I used a pitch fork and shovel and brute strength to pull the stumps out. I pulled all the remaining roots out that I could. I used a bow rake to level the soil. I took 3 Motrin a few hours ago but it's not working like magic.

Here's 3 of the 4 remaining shrubs. Each one is about 4' in diameter.

Stumps and bagged shrubbery ready for yard waste pick-up.

See all that bare dirt on the left side of my driveway? What am I going to do with all this new planting space? Another big job coming up.

I'm so sore and tired that I reluctantly cancelled my evening plans. I joined a Meetup hiking group and tonight was the first walk around a large beautiful lake near where I work. I was really looking forward to it. I think it might be a once-a-week event. Hopefully I can do it next time.

Time to rest these fingers of mine. They're sore too.

Mango's Big Day Out

Last week when I was at The Annapolitan I showed my mom's table mates videos of Mango. They enjoyed it so much that I told them I would bring him in next time I visited. That was today. It was such a wonderful experience! I carried him around to all the tables in the dining room so the residents could see him. Mr. Mango brought a smile to all. A number of residents have dogs and cats, which is another reason this place is really like home. I bet they'd love a bird like Mango.

Mom's table minus 2

This is Carol. She's great

Sylvia. It was love at first sight between her and Mango.

Dear Old Dad

I think Mom tolerated Mango

You know how when, for instance, a daughter has a baby and it's nice to see the daughter but it's really all about the baby? I think that's how it's going to be now with me and Mango. I have a feeling my popularity has been usurped.

Emily was the next one to visit with Mango while I went shopping (and sampling) at Whole Foods.

Next I saw a friend who lives around the corner from me in her yard so I pulled over and Mango visited with her grandkids on the sidewalk (in his cage) while we talked. Another neighbor walked by with his daughter, who sat on the sidewalk and talked to Mango.

Finally I went home, but it was so nice out that I put Mango's cage on the driveway while I got some fresh air and played Words With Friends.



Mango's been resting up for the last few hours. It was a big day out.

No sliding

If I don't write today I'm going down that slippery slope. I just know it. Time to think quick.

I had a hair disaster on Wednesday. The end of the story is that the finished hair color was beautiful. In between, it was very bright coral, and my first try at a fix turned it purple. It was very hard not freak out, but I held it together. My client was very patient and never asked to look in the mirror. Thank goodness. When she did see herself, as I was drying her hair before putting the toner on, she was freaked. At that stage it was a yellow-orange, and much much better than the colors she didn't see. It was beautiful in the end. The cause of all this? A tube of bright reddish coral color was in the slot of what should have been a golden brown. Lesson learned? Trust your instincts (the color seemed off from the start, but I double-checked which tubes I used, then kept going) and check that you really do have the right color. What a day that was. It will stay in my memory forever.

I was so busy with that fiasco that I had no time to keep up with the iPad announcement that I was so anxious to hear. On Wednesday night I ordered 'The New iPad'. How's that for a name? Not iPad 3, but 'the new iPad'. Apple marketing; I'm sure it's a smart move, somehow. Anyway, I did it. I'm no longer the girl who cried wolf. I can't believe how expensive it was...that's the only thing that has me a little freaked out. It will be delivered to my workplace on Friday. I'm so excited! I bought an inexpensive case to take it home (just like a baby from the hospital). I've been searching Etsy for handmade cases. I think I want the book-type. If you have one, do you have a suggestion?

My 'new' bird bath

I'm so happy to have the bird bath from my parent's old home. My brother had given it to my mom years ago as a gift, and when I expressed an interest in it, he gave it to me. Isn't it beautiful? It's in the middle of my garden and as I sit on my porch in the warm days to come, I know I'm going to get so much pleasure out of seeing the birds enjoying it. My mom always did.

Happy Weekend! Mine will start at latte time tomorrow.

Inside and Out

I started the day by vacuuming up bird food and bird stuff. You'd never know it now. I'm gonna look for a cage garter, if there is such a thing. I really don't mind the cleaning up. It's making me maintain a cleaner house. At least so far! You should see me when I have Mango on the couch. There's an old tablecloth draped over the back and top of the couch, and a dish towel over my shoulder, chest and lap. Ha Ha...can you picture it? I'm poop-proofing myself and the furniture.

I didn't have plans for today, and fought my natural instinct to get busy. That was hard because I like 'busy'. The thought occurred to me out of the blue to search YouTube for hair cutting tutorials. Lo and behold, there's a zillion of them and I watched for hours. I love to see how other people cut hair but rarely have the time to do that at work. There's always something new to learn from other people. The videos were great and I bookmarked a few YouTube channels and a hair cutting blog. I'm excited.

I finally got up and moving and bundled up for a long walk. It felt so good. Along the way I spotted a patch of miniature daffodils in the woods and gathered some, along with purple weeds. So pretty. It was wonderful to be outside getting fresh air and exercise after half a day inside. I felt complete. I spent an hour cleaning up in the garden just as an excuse to stay out a little longer.

Mostly pets

I'm happiest when I'm busiest, as long as I have a few hours at the end of the day to just chill. These days that means watching my favorite shows. My favorites are, and probably in this order: Person of Interest, The Good Wife, Parenthood, Private Practice, Up All Night, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Grey's Anatomy, Two and a Half Men, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, It's a Brad Brad World, and Smash. Oh, and Downton Abby. And Glee. I had no idea I watched so many shows and now I'm a little embarrassed. My DVR is always almost full, and though I love my shows, I seem to hoard them without watching. In other words, it's hard to keep up. I just checked and I have 15 episodes of shows waiting. No time for blogging, gotta go watch TV!! Kidding. Soon they will be over for the season, timed for the start of longer and warmer days when I'll want to spend all my time outdoors.

I thought I'd share this video of Mango. I'll be so disappointed if the link doesn't work! Excuse my talking to him in 'baby talk'. I guess that's what you do when you have a pet. I'm new to this!



So, I killed my parent's fish. I set up a 2.5 gallon fish tank in their bathroom when they moved into The Annapolitan last April. The goldfish had gotten way too big, and there was a big problem with the water. It was always pinkish red. Last Sunday I decided to take drastic measures and did an almost complete water change. I figured wrong that the fish who lived in that water could stand up to it. My mother called me the next day to say I killed the fish. I went to Petco today and decided to buy a blue betta fish. I decided to buy coordinating blue gravel. I had to clean that disgusting tank and was very proud of the job I did up until I put the new fish in. He's more than a little hard to see against all that blue. Oh well. I just hope it lives.

Blue Fish

Sunny+Friday=Happy

I love watching The Today Show while going about my morning. It helps to keep me current plus it's entertaining. Today I saw the "Doomsday" global seed vault in Norway that I'd learned about a few years ago. It's a repository for every type of seed in the world. The purpose is to allow agriculture to remain productive in the future, not only in case of catastrophe, but for seed diversity. The seeds should be viable for at least 20,000 years. I love this kind of stuff.

The signs of spring are everywhere and I'm excited. My life is so much better when I can be outside and active. A flicker was pounding away on the metal grate atop my chimney. A sure sign of spring as it happens every year. I had to step carefully as I was cleaning up my garden because of all the tulip greenery emerging from the soil. It's going to be so great to see the red tulips I planted in the fall! I spent a little time on my hammock yesterday but it was really a little chilly. Soon. Still, I think I'll go to Lowe's this morning to look at zinnia seeds. I can't help myself.

Random thought...I am SO tired of seeing the commercials for Cancer Institute of America. It seems like I can't turn on the television without seeing one. I do, however, love every commercial for jcpenny. More about that some other time.

I'm enjoying my bird Mango, and my house is cleaner than ever with my trying to keep the dander and food off the floor. It's nice to have a little buddy here at home with me. So far, no regrets.

Time to get off the couch and ready for a busy day at work. Happy Friday.

The girl who cried wolf

I'll have to figure out how to embed the album of my NY trip. It shows up for me, but no one else. I'm not gonna stress!

I can't wait till March 7th. It's the rumored date of the announcement of the iPad3 and I'm so excited that I'm finally getting one. Really...I am. I was so excited when the first one came out. I was definitely getting it. I wanted it so bad and everyone knew it. What happened? I couldn't justify it, though others told me I didn't have to. It wasn't just the money, it was because I didn't need it. I spent so much time coming to that decision. When the second one came out, I was definitely getting it. So excited! What happened after obsessing about it? Couldn't do it. Again. I just couldn't justify it. Who needs a iPad when you have a iPhone that does everything you need? And here I am again, with a pending announcement. This time though, I'm not going to think about it. No more crying wolf. I have a Apple Gift card and enough Christmas gift money from my clients set aside to pay for it. The only thing to decide on now is what to have inscribed on the back when I place my order.

New York City

Don't you hate it when something that should be simple becomes overly complicated? I had the hardest time trying to embed a link to my Picasaweb album. I uploaded the pictures and filled in the captions two days ago to make tonight's post easy. So much for good intentions; I continue to be humbled by them. If you saw this album on Facebook, you can skip this one...it's a copy. If you'd like to see it, click on the photo, then view it as a slideshow. I put captions on most of the pictures and they tell the story of my New York City trip. It was such a great adventure!

For the birds

I really can't believe how long it's been since I've written anything. How am I going to remember my life if I don't write about it? I'm going to try to do better. Famous last words! Have I ever talked about good intentions? Probably.

One of the things I was thinking of this morning as the sun was streaming through my windows was dust. The beautiful sunlight just highlighted the layer on my furniture. Where the heck does it come from? You couldn't tell I had just dusted a week ago. Dust is for the birds. And speaking of birds..I got a bird. Twice! I don't remember if I had my cockatiel Zeus when I started my blog. I loved him. He was the only pet I ever had and he flew away when I stepped outside without realizing he was on my shoulder. I'll never forget him and never let that happen again. One day last week it popped into my head that I might like having a bird again. A companion. Rob and I went to a pet store that breeds and hand-raises their birds, and I chose a bird that was beautiful. Emily was so excited! I had to go home to get my old cage and the three of us went back to the shop to get him. I was a little envious in the store with how good he was with Rob and Emily, but I knew I'd have plenty of time with him alone. Long story short, he would get on my shoulder but not ever let me touch him. All he did was try to bite me. I had buyer's remorse, but was determined to win him over. I brought Mango back to the store today for his 1 week check-up.

Not my finger
The store is owned by a husband and wife and this time the wife was there. I talked about Mango, and how all he does is try to bite me. I told her how loving Zeus was. She observed Mango with me. She held Mango and he was mean to her! We talked a lot about the care I was giving him. She could tell that I was trying really hard to do everything right. I was a little excited and hopeful when she gave me another cockatiel to hold. Right away this new bird put his head down for me to rub. He let me hold him and stroke him and get close. The owner told me she's never exchanged a bird before, but she wanted to do it for me. I'm so happy! So, so happy! They're going to re-socialize Mango so he can go to another home. Can we name the new bird Mango too?

Mango 2
I went to NY last weekend with my friend Kit. She asked a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to go and without hesitation I said YES! I'll write about it this weekend. I'm making a commitment here. I want to read all about it!

Special in my own way

Time for my every-once-in-a-while blog post. Why now? No clue.

I went to BAM after work today. Books-A-Million. They took over my Borders, and I'd been there once or twice before the holidays. I was happy to see that it was pretty busy inside. I got my favorite latte and sat down with a iPhone magazine, just like in the old days. Me, who thought I knew my iPhone pretty much inside and out, learned about 15 new things from the magazine. I'm so happy. I've missed out on a lot of knowledge since Borders closed!! I plan on making BAM my new after work hang-out on Saturdays. I'm excited. Those who know me know how much I loved Borders and now I have a good replacement.

My sister Ilene from GA is in town to spend a lot of time with my parents, and she's staying with me. It's been so nice to have a house guest! We met my brother and sister Lisa for dinner tonight at a huge Chinese buffet, Teppanyaki Supreme Buffet. It was a gluttonous place! I can usually do some damage at buffets, but I haven't had much of tolerance for food since I had the stomach bug earlier this week.

Speaking of that...yuck. I've never had the stomach bug, and thought I was kind of special because of that feat. Serves me right. I really thought I had an immunity. Many, many people at my parents assisted living have had it. There's a warning sign when you enter the building, but I wasn't worried. I spent two days in a row visiting and got it right after that. Now I'm part of the club, woohoo. I hope to be able to say, "I've only ever had the stomach bug once in my life." Would that still make me special?

Time flies

I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. Sorta. My plan for the day after spending an hour working on my basement cleanup (baby steps) was to spend the afternoon with my mother. I finally reached Mom on the phone to find out that she, along with many other residents and staff, has the stomach bug. She has a sick caregiver, but one that gets to stay with her and give her all the care she needs. Needless to say, I'm staying away.

My mother suffered a small stroke earlier this month. It's been over 11 years since the massive stroke that changed her life, and the lives of her family. I really thought after all this time that it would never happen again. This one was a quiet one, in many ways. We noticed that all of a sudden my mother became very quiet. Long story short, the hospital where she stayed for 3 nights diagnosed it as a stroke. Fortunately there were no physical changes, and my mom is acting much more like herself. She is pretty depressed, though, and it has a lot to do with winter. She's stuck indoors and is feeling isolated. I know I'd feel the same. My plan was to show her a good time today. Raincheck!

Life is quiet around here. My daughter has a new man in her life and between that and our jobs, and her school, I don't see much of her. When I do, it's great. She's growing up and becoming a woman. I look at her face, and it's new to me. I miss her!

So, I live in my big (for one person) house mostly alone. I'm not bored, and I'm not lonely. I used to spend so much time on the computer, but I really don't any more. I check for e-mail; I rarely get personal e-mails. It probably has something to do with the fact I hardly send them, and because I don't blog, I don't get comments mailed to me. Thank goodness for Groupon, bradsdeals, LivingSocial, etc. It's the only mail I get (haha). I check in with Facebook on my iPhone at least a few times a day. I like seeing status updates and making some of my own, but other than that, it's not important to me. I've been terrible about reading blogs or writing them. Instead of being on the computer I've been watching shows that I've DVR'd. TV is very entertaining! That said, I can't wait to be entertained by the things you can do in warm weather. I miss being outside. I can't wait till the days are longer and the outdoors is where I spend my time. Time flies, which can be good and bad. Before I know it, I'll be sitting on my porch watching for my hummingbirds. I really can't wait.

Happy New Year!

Visiting my mother and writing a new blog post were the only must-do things on my list today. It's almost 7 PM and I'm just now getting to #2.

The holiday 'season' passed by in a blur, as usual. I guess the season is all about the lead-up to the day. Once Christmas Day is over, it's all over. My sister Lisa and I went to The Annapolitan on Christmas Eve Day for their Holiday Dinner. There were over 200 people there (I think there's around 90 residents). It was so nice! I've said it so many times but I'll say it again. We're SO glad my parents are living there.

My daughter worked Christmas Eve but we spent some time together when she came home, then a few hours in the morning before she headed to her dad's. I spent a really nice day with my neighbor Kelly and her guests.

Are we hams or what?

I was ready to head back to work on Monday. I'm finding I don't do well with too much free time. It was a quiet week at work, and will probably be a slow month. Hopefully not too slow, since I work on commission. Rob was able to visit mid-week and we had our Christmas then. I think his favorite gift was the Dr. Martens shoes I got him. Mine was the Apple gift card to use towards the iPad3 I'll get as soon as it comes out. I.can't.wait!

I chose to be proactive and make New Year's Eve plans instead of staying home alone (Rob works every weekend). I'm so glad I did. My friend Kit and I drove to Manassas, VA, about an hour away. We checked into a hotel, and our high school friend Lisa met us there. We went to Kit's sister's bar/restaurant. It was SO out of my 'norm'. I felt like I was sightseeing! So many people smoking and drinking. Such loud head-banger music. It was fun until the smoke finally got to me. We headed back to the hotel and hung out by the fireplace for a while. It was so great to be together. There's nothing like old friends!

I spent a few hours with my mom today. She hasn't seemed like herself since this past Saturday, and I made an appointment for her to see her doctor tomorrow. She's just too quiet. I hope she's OK! I finally cut her hair. She was quite the wild-looking woman.

The top two pictures are, of course, the 'before' pictures. Doesn't my mom look great in her new glasses?

I'm ready to get cozy with my book, the biography of Steve Jobs. I hope it gets me so relaxed that my new evil friend insomnia stays away tonight.

Happy 2012 my friends. I wish you health, and happiness. Wealth would be great too, but I know that health is the most important thing.

Ho Ho Hello

It just seems like I dropped off the face of the earth. I'm still here. I'm just in that category of 'occasional' bloggers, now.

My holiday party was a little over a week ago, and as usual, it was a lot of fun. Emily and Rob were huge helps to me in the set up, and Rob, especially, as a host. The house is just now (with a little help from the occupants) reverting back to some clutter. The newspapers and TV guides can only stay in the laundry room so long! Still, it's pretty neat in here, and I do love seeing the house all dressed up for the holidays.

My shopping was finished up last week, so there's really no stress left. Actually, the shopping was fun. I'll be having Christmas Eve dinner with my parents and sister at The Annapolitan. Emily and I normally spend Christmas morning together, but I'm not sure what will be happening this year. I'm going to my neighbors for Christmas dinner. Kelly has always extended an invitation when I didn't have any other plans. Rob works every weekend, so he won't be around for Christmas or New Year's. It will all be low-key for me.

I had to bring my car into the shop today because of a very bad oil leak. It was streaming. I also had to rent a car, something I've never had to do before. I've always had my parents car as a loaner. Paying for this car repair, whatever it might be, in addition to the rental comes at a bad time of year, especially following paying for half of Emily's new rebuilt transmission. I reminded myself again that it's a car problem and not a car accident. You have to look at the sunny side.

I'm on a quest to scan old family photos. I can't wait to find more.

Ho Ho Ho!

It's a party time of year

There's nothing like a party to clean up a house. At least that's always been the case with me. I'm down on the floor wiping around the edges when I notice the grate on the bottom of the refrigerator. So dirty! I take it off to wash when I notice the coils have 1/4" of dust on them. I probably haven't cleaned them since getting ready for last year's Christmas party. I go to put the grate back on when I notice the baseboards. And that all the doors need to wiped around the knobs. And the slats in the intake grills need to be dusted. And there's dust on the edges of the ceiling fans. And on and on and on. The house is now pretty clean. That's a good feeling. I grew up in a spotless home. I live in a neat one, but not necessarily an always clean one.

My salon party was on Saturday night at Pam and Mason's, my wonderful bosses. Great food, music and dancing with all my Mason and Friends co-workers. I'm still hoarse from trying to talk about the roar of the crowd. A great time was had by all.

Yesterday I hosted my book club for our annual holiday gathering. I count myself as being so fortunate to be part of such a wonderful group of friends. We typically spend about 4 hours talking, eating, drinking, socializing and oh, talking a little about the book (usually 20-30 minutes). We've considered putting together a cookbook, because our food is really so awesome. This was our repertoire yesterday:
sambossas (an Ethiopian appetizer) with a wonderful sauce, vegetable curry with Nam, vegetarian egg rolls in rice paper with peanut sauce, chicken salad on rolls, chicken chili, veggies and dip, steamed shrimp, and chipped beef dip. For dessert we had pumpkin cheesecake and carrot cake bites.

I got a call mid-party that my mom had fallen and although she said she was fine, the ambulance was on the way to get her. I was so upset when I saw my mom 6 days prior because she was walking unassisted and she's such a fall risk. She should never ever walk alone, yet there she was. Another fall waiting to happen. Last night I knew she would be OK, and if not, then I'd go to the hospital. As soon as the party was over I called the ER and spoke to my mom's nurse who said she was off getting X-rays. She also said they had been watching America's Funniest Home Videos before she was taken and my mom had her in stitches. The X-rays showed Mom has a fracture to her collarbone, which is something that will heal on it's own. She went home by private ambulance. I visited her this morning, and fortunately, she's not in any pain. At least not yet. And so it goes, until the next fall, because my mom will only ask for help with her walking for a little while. She was lucky this time. She's not always so lucky.

I had a successful Christmas shopping day today. Yay! I'm excited to be giving gifts that I think people will love. I'm excited that I've somehow come up with good ideas. I also think I'm getting in the mood for Christmas. Thank goodness.

I'm gearing up for my annual holiday party at my house next Saturday night. I love entertaining. It's going to be a busy week!

Full, but quiet

I've been off of work for 4 days, and believe it or not, I'm ready to go back. I've kept busy, but I've been mostly alone. It's a little too quiet already! I've filled up all the time, though, with good stuff. We've had fabulous weather, which has been a gift. I've gone walking each day; something I haven't done for a while. It's felt so good to just move. Today I cleared a large swath in my basement. It's such a mess, but better than it was. I swept the cleared area. I filled an outdoor trash bag with Beanie Babies to donate. Yeah, I was one of those dumb collectors back when. I emptied out my outdoor clay pots and put them away. I planted 60 red tulip bulbs (I can't wait to see them in the spring!). I sat on my deck in shorts and read my book. I went to Sam's Club and a few other stores. It was so hard not to buy myself an impulse gift! I resisted the urge to get a pizza and came home and made a healthy meal.

My house is mostly decorated for the holidays, inside and out. I've done a little shopping. I'm still not feeling the holiday spirit,though. Rob will be here this week and he'll help me decorate the tree. I don't want to sound bah humbug, but the tree is my least favorite thing to do. It'll look great when it's done and hopefully get me closer to feeling festive. I'm hosting my book club holiday party next Sunday, and my big holiday party the following Saturday. I have to be ready. Ho ho ho.

Time to get back to the book I'm reading, Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese. Has anyone read it? It's a very long book...667 pages. I feel like I'm living the story. I'll be sad when it ends.

Happy (Black) Friday

I have so many random thoughts jumping around...

My mom's caregiver, Pat, just called to tell me my mom is showered and has her favorite body lotion on, and she's very happy and ready for bed. I am SO thankful that my parents are where they are and SO well-taken care of. I picked my parents up yesterday to bring them to my relatives for Thanksgiving. What a trip! It's 22 miles from my house to my parents, and 52 miles from their place to my Aunt and Uncle's. We met my daughter at a parking lot mid-way, and she followed us in her car. About 5 miles from our destination her car broke down. Long story short, we had the car pushed out of the road and onto the grassy median, then went to the house. Many phone calls later we found a tow truck willing to work on a holiday, and met the truck and dropped the car at a service station my cousin uses. Whew. Stress. I thought to myself, I'm thankful that it's a car problem and not an accident or the hospital. Back at the house, my mom was having such a hard time. Her walking days are almost over. She needed so much help while we were there and I was the only one to do it. I had to remind myself that I'm so thankful my mom is still alive and that I can be of help to her. We finally left for the long drive home that included a stop at my house so my daughter could gather some of her things to bring to her friend's, where she was spending the night. I dropped her off there, then proceeded to my parent's place. Pat, Mom's favorite caregiver (who I had called to give our ETA) was watching for my car from the entry. She came out and got Mom out of the car and into her scooter. I gave her a big hug and thank-you, then drove away, knowing that my parents would be taken care of. I was almost slap-happy with weariness when I got to my house. It was an almost 200-mile day! I think it's a last for my parents going to my Aunt and Uncle's for Thanksgiving. It's just too hard.

The news on my daughter's car is that it's the transmission. The shop ordered a rebuilt transmission and it will be ready in a few days. Then we'll need to make the long trip to get it. Ho ho ho.

I wonder if retailers will reconsider their Black Friday strategies after the fiascoes that occurred today. Shame on people for their behavior. I was looking at my previous post about the excitement I felt the year I got my mixer. I had forgotten about the fear I felt when a bunch of women behind me rushed the doors and plowed through the crowd to get to what they wanted. Black Friday is designed to create a lust for almost unattainable merchandise.

Tomorrow marks the last day of 12 days on Methylprednisolone for my pinched nerve. It's not all better, unfortunately. I really hated taking that medicine...I think it affected my mood, my sleep, etc. I just cancelled my doctor's appointment scheduled for Monday because I'm afraid to get a Cortisone injection because of the pain. Hope along with me that the pinched nerve will get better with time, OK?

And that's the end of my rambling for now. I'm so glad I found my muse, for a change.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you're going to Thanksgiving dinner as a guest, it's such a different experience than if you're hosting. I'm so glad I didn't have to travel out-of-state, or clean my house for company. The cooking part I wouldn't have minded. I'll be traveling to my relatives in Gaithersburg with Emily and my parents. For the very first time, my brother and his family and my sister Lisa and her kids won't be there. Emily will be lonely without her favorite cousins. I'll be driving to my parents and doing my mom's hair and make-up and getting her dressed, then driving the long drive to the relatives. It's going to take some time for the whole process, but that's OK; it's what families do.

It's been a crazy-busy three days of work for me. I'm usually always busy, but everyone being busy at the same time really changes things up. The salon was a-buzz with activity and anticipation of the holiday. We worked so hard, but now we're off till Tuesday. We'll return to a salon filled with beautiful poinsettias, marking the beginning of the Christmas season.

Anyone doing any Black Friday shopping? I did it once, years ago, to buy my Kitchenaid mixer, and it was really pretty exciting. I contemplated going to Sam's Club in the morning to buy a Dyson vacuum cleaner, till I saw it was a close-out model. It's probably fine, but I decided to skip it. There's nothing I need or want, so I'll be staying in.

And talking of need or want, I've realized I'm a hard person to buy for because there's nothing that I need or want. Actually, I'd like a coupon for 'services'. For instance, caulking my shower, fixing the shelves in my closet, organizing my basement with me, etc. Just some help. I'd like an immersion blender, and I've asked Emily for that. Maybe I'll ask her for a coupon too.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Amongst other things, I'm very thankful that I know you.

A one day weekend

I've thought it was Monday all day long. I wondered where the lunch crowd was when I was at Fuddruckers with my mom. Wondered why I had no mail. Thought my neighbor must have the day off to be out raking in the afternoon. I also had the time wrong by an hour because I still haven't changed the clock in my car. I'm guessing I've had the day wrong because I knew I was working tomorrow, and the day after my weekend is always Tuesday, not Monday. So, kind of a strange day. I spent part of it with my mom, and the rest doing stuff around the house. Doesn't my mom look very modern in her new glasses?

The woman in the picture is one of my mother's very, very awesome caregivers, Pat. She loves my mom and takes such good care of her. My mother is spoiled rotten, and she deserves to be.

In other news, Rob did so much for me around the house while he was here this week. I'm not used to having help. He moved furniture and washed glasses and trimmed all my shrubs, and raked my whole front yard. I'm so thankful. Emily got out there and helped with the yard work too! Yesterday she got the Christmas spirit, and with her dad's help, put up lots of Christmas lights. Wow! We're the first ones around to have Christmas lights up. A bit early for me, but that's just fine. I'm just so happy that she did it.

Speaking of Christmas, I'm hoping to get in the mood soon. My first party is December 4th.

Time to read. And remember I have to work tomorrow.

Nerves

I had so much to say, and pictures to post, but I'm too tired now. If only I had started this hours ago.

I saw the doctor this morning, and the diagnosis is a pinched nerve. "Neuritis of the right radial nerve." He thinks I must have banged or bumped my wrist at some point. It could have been, but it must have been inconsequential at the time because I don't remember having the pain until the one time I extended my wrist 'just so'. Tomorrow I'll start on a 2-week course of steroids. He's hopeful that the drugs will do the trick. Me too. I'm SO glad that's what the problem is and that he didn't mention surgery. He did mention a shot if the steroids don't work. I'll go back to see the doctor in two weeks, unless I'm healed in which case he told me to cancel. Here's hoping for healing!

R's and other stuff

I think the secret to blogging on a regular basis is to blog on a regular basis. The longer I go without writing, the harder it is to do it. The more it gets out of my routine, the harder it is to make it routine. I don't want to give it up. I just need to try harder. I started blogging for me. From time-to-time I go back and read past posts, and I'm really glad I have this diary of my life. At least the part I make public. Really, most of my life is public. The only thing I don't write about is the strife between my daughter and me. It's funny...she scans my blog from time to time, only looking for her name. I try not to write it!

I spent a good part of September and October worrying about pretty constant abdominal discomfort. I had a couple of CT scans and a colonoscopy. I saw a gastroenterologist. The end result was that an over-the-counter solution has made me all better. Wish I had seen that doctor first. I have an appointment with a orthopedist tomorrow morning. Two weeks ago I reached for something with my right hand and something went very wrong in my wrist. I've had a couple of episodes of the worst pain I've experienced in my entire life since then, the most awful being when I reached for my purse on the passenger seat. Strange, huh? I've babied my wrist since then. Hopefully it just needs rest. My job depends on my hands.

Work has been good, and it's been busy. Yea! I need busy. I'm so glad I'm a high-energy person. Bring it on!

Did I ever mention that I really dislike my laptop that I bought in July? Shame on me for not returning it when I could. I finally got a wireless mouse, just so I can type without my cursor jumping all over the place. Apparently the mouse is so sensitive with so many applications built in, that it's hard not to touch it and initiate a command. I have no choice but to deal with it. Oh, and the 'R' on my keyboard doesn't work correctly. I went to Staples the other day (where I bought it) and they said they could order a replacement keyboard. Great. Then they told me it would be $54. Umm...I don't think I should have to pay for it. Maybe tomorrow I'll call Toshiba. I really want my R back. Hees what eally happens witing words with r's in them before I edit. Bumme.

And that's all she wote (wrote). I'll be back to report on my doctor appointment. Maybe that's the key to blogging. Writing about stuff to be continued...