1)   January - The year started with me waiting for dental work to be done on two of my upper right teeth.  Oh, yay!  I just "love" the dentist . . . NOT!  What a way to start the year!  Annamarie started seeing the psych. therapist that Luci was seeing because of concerns I had for Annamarie.  I felt like no one was listening to me when I said there was something "terribly wrong" with her.  I began to homeschool Annamarie again, after trying public school from Oct. through December.  Luci was finally diagnosed with ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) and, quite likely, will later be diagnosed as bipolar.  She was removed from a  plethora of medications and started back on only two that seem to be doing a good job of managing her outbursts.  The girls' therapist, Julie, continued with weekly therapy sessions and being a tremendous support to me.

2)   February - Rissy turned 6 years old.  I got my permanent crowns "installed" and could smile with confidence again!  It was embarrassing to have my second and third tooth missing.  I say "missing" because the temporary thing they gave me to fill in the gap popped out every time I breathed through my mouth!  I was relieved that I probably wouldn't need to see the dentist again for quite a long while (little did I know!).

3)   March - Annamarie turned 7 years old.  She has one more birthday "with party favors" and then (after the 8th b-day) she'll have "big girl" celebrations.  We continued having Annamarie tested to get to the root of her difficulties. . . difficulties with everything in life, in general.

4)   April - *I* had my birthday and turned 54 years old.  The same age my bio-mom was when she died of a very rare form of blood cancer.  It's been an odd feeling this year, to think of what life was like for her at the same age.  Of course, I still have three little ones at home and that makes my life VERY DIFFERENT from hers.  We STILL continued with Annamarie's testing and therapy sessions with Julie.

5)   May - Annamarie was diagnosed with PDDNOS (on the autistic spectrum).  PDD stands for pervasive development disorder (it encompasses every area of her life: social cues, learning capability, speech, appropriate and safe behavior, etc.) and the NOS means that it's non-specific, not fitting into any one specific category.  ALTHOUGH, she has many autistic behaviors (just not enough to qualify her with a label of "autistism"), she is functioning with a below average I.Q. on a slightly higher level than those who are clinically "retarded."  AT LEAST MY FEARS WERE CONFIRMED.  With that new diagnosis, we are better able to teach Annamarie.  At the end of the month, Jesse's sister's fiance' died.  Jesse flew out to Tacoma/Seattle for the funeral and us girls were left here to fend for ourselves for a week.

6)   June - Luci had her graduation ceremony from Pre-K at the daycare she attends daily.  We made a big deal out of it and took lots of pictures.  Stephanie turned 29 years old.  Lori K's family came from Ohio for their annual visit - always a good time!   And, Jesse's brother and our niece from Tacoma/Seattle came for a week long visit, but ended up staying for 2 weeks.  We had a great time and it was so good to get to know each other better.  I was the one taking pictures when my niece, Aolani, was born and hadn't seen her since she was about 2 years old.  At the time of our visit she was 6 1/2 years old!  During June, my girls' adoption subsidy and medical benefits were accidentally canceled.  What a headache, dealing with the state and all!!!   While eating R-I-C-E at a Chinese restaurant, I broke ANOTHER tooth.  This time it was my 5th tooth on the upper left side.  The dentist didn't have an opening for 3 weeks and I had to walk around with a black hole in my smile!  Ouch!  So UNglamorous!

7)   July - I began to feel run down during the first part of the month (can't imagine WHY after such a busy June!) and caught a "cough/cold" that made me feel rotten.  Very soon after that, I became ill with pneumonia.  I continued to battle for the girls' benefits to be reinstated.  I became more and more weak and so ill that I was finally confined to bed with pneumonia and other complications.  Breathing machine day and night, round the clock consumption of copious amounts of water, steroids and antibiotics - you get the picture!  I had to reschedule my dental appointment because my respiratory system was so compromised and my doctor felt the anesthesia would be too dangerous.  JanaLyn turned 4 years old and I could barely get out of bed for her party. 

8)   August - Luci turned 5 years old and, thankfully, Jesse took her and the girls out for the day and Stephanie pulled together the decorations, cake, gifts, etc. for her evening party.  I was still confined to bed and dependent on a church's help feeding us and offering any support they could.  I had to reschedule my dental appointment AGAIN because it was still too dangerous for me to be placed under any anesthesia.  Somehow, during this time, I battled the girls' benefit problems and they were reinstated at the end of August with the promise of some "back money" being sent "soon" to us.  A gal from the new church, Emily, started helping by cleaning my house for 2 hours twice a week.  She was a God-send to us.

9)   September - FINALLY, I had a root canal done and temporary cap put on my bad tooth.  At least I could smile without being embarrassed, but no chewing on that side of my mouth.  I was still having lung complications and made several trips to the doctor.  It was one thing after another for me.  I started the month full of hope, but soon became discouraged.  Lori K was a wonderful source of support, as was my husband, and Emily.  The new church continually called to check on me.  Such dear, sweet, dedicated sisters in Christ.

10)   October - I still had even more complications from my lungs.  I was so weary by this time of being sick.  At least I was no longer on complete bed rest and was able to slug around in other rooms of my house.  Nikki turned 21 years old.  I found a new doctor who is literally around the corner from me and cheaper.  I was also fitted with my temporary crown - yay!  It would only be two weeks before I could chew on my left side again!!!!!

11)   November - I GOT MY PERMANENT CROWN!!!!  Maybe NOW there won't be any dental visits for a while, although I no longer say "never" when referring to ANYthing!  One never knows!  Emily dropped back to cleaning only once a week for 4 hours and I was able to do more and more without help.  I had my first PAP smear in 15+ years (wouldn't recommend that long of a gap!!) and everything was fine.  Life was looking up . . .THEN, "the headaches" came.  They were excruciating to me, someone who's never been plagued by headaches of ANY kind, at least not since 1971-1972.  These were rebound headaches (from Ibuprofen and Tylenol use) that triggered migraine headaches.  Back to the "new" doctor for MORE prescriptions and MORE lab work, after limping through Thanksgiving with a package of Green Giant frozen corn held to my head. 

12)   December - Jesse's 43rd birthday.  Emily wasn't able to clean during December, but she DID come by with a card and birthday cake for Jesse and has continued to call and check in.  SUCH A SWEET GIRL!  We decided (we've been talking about this for the past few years) to use minimal Christmas decorations and keep the whole "Christmas-thing" kind of low key.  We only put up garland in the doorways with red berries, pine cones, and birds.  I TOTALLY RUINED 3 meals within 24 hours, thus proving I can't be a relaxed hostess AND a top notch chef at the same time.  I'll have to decide in the future which one I want to be!  On December 26th, I had a doctor's appointment to recheck some lab work.  I found out today my thyroid is finally at a good range and my other lab work hasn't come back yet.  Jesse's mother fell and is in the hospital.  She called the ambulance herself, fearing a broken hip,  but all they have found is a hairline fractured pelvis and lots of pulled muscles and bruising.  This happened a few days ago and whether she'll go home or to an extended care facility is up in the air.  Yesterday, while a lab tech was preparing to draw her blood, the lab tech said she took a blood pressure reading before sticking her and found all of her vital signs to be "crashing" and called a "code blue" (cardiac arrest/flat line call . . . in hospital talk) and they took the next couple of hours to stabilize her.  The doctor believes she took two medications too close together (blood pressure med and Percodan for pain), all of this given by the nursing staff.  Yikes!  We are making plans for our January 2nd tenth wedding anniversary.  And, we have nothing planned for New Year's Eve tonight except to stay cozy and warm in our house.   I doubt we'll even stay awake until midnight!

13)   My thoughts - I was thinking I've had a "good year" despite all of the dental visits (my most UNfavorite place to be) and expense;  despite the severe and troubling diagnosis' about Annamarie and Luci (at least we know what we are dealing with, now);  despite missing JanaLyn's and Luci's birthday parties (there will be lots more);  despite being sick, sick, sick for half of the year; despite suffering with migraines that haven't plagued me since I was a teenager, and, despite my hunt for a new competent doctor. 

Because of this past year, I feel much closer to God and filled with less pride.  I'm alright with being less in control of my life and everything else around me.  I definitely have learned to do less "fussy" things and to do everything more slowly.  This has been a year that has made a tremendous change in my lifestyle.  The events of the year have changed my way of thinking about my life, the events that I used to think were important, the importance I used to place on my chores, my new reliance on my husband to help me, my style of cooking (raw!!! LOL), and my newly found friends from church. 

It's still been a good year because of my new church friends and all of those new Xanga blogging buddies with whom I have formed sweet relationships.  I have never stopped growing in Christ, even when I thought I was complacent, and I suppose a nudge from God isn't ever a bad thing!

My list of the past 12 months may look horribly dismal and drear, but I feel I've been blessed for twelve months and not cursed.  I look forward to our tenth anniversary "honeymoon get-away" and all that 2008 has in store, God willing.

I realized I didn't do my usual Thursday Thirteen, yesterday.  The food catastrophe seemed a more interesting subject!  Maybe I'll do a list of "End of the Year Thirteen" sometime over the next few days.  I never make New Year's resolutions.  I'm not usually in the frame of mind by December 31st to think of MORE things to do!  Normally, I take January to relax, not to pile myself up with more things to accomplish!

It's only 2 more weeks until my brother-in-law from Tacoma/Seattle comes for a month long visit.  He's (technically) disabled and Jesse's sister cares for him.  She will be flying to India for a month and James will fly here before she leaves and arrive home a day or two before she returns.  He's a very easy guest, with a good sense of humor, and I enjoy watching Jesse and him banter back and forth as brothers!  The girls, of course, are thrilled he is coming, but disappointed their cousin won't be with him this time.

I received some sad news this morning.  The gal that used to board our horse (Mr. Bobo) called to tell Jesse that one of her favorite horses died December 26th.  She found him in a far pasture with colic and was unable (despite heroic efforts) to revive him.  Colic must be the most common illnesses for horses and is often fatal.  Seems to me he had it once before and she almost lost him.  He was a beautiful, HUGE (tall) horse named, Tinman.  Anyway, we all feel bad for her loss.

Speaking of animals . . . Jesse is off this morning with his friend, Camilo, looking at a Red Australian Heeler pup.  I'm not up for more responsibility, right now; but, if he wants to spend his winter free time dog training, I'm not going to object.  We read (online) about the breed which has both good and bad reports.  VERY much in need of activities and if left to their own (super intelligent) devices, CAN BE destructive.  I figure I'm wanting new den furniture anyway, so what's the worst that can happen?????!!!!!  I truly love all animals; however, right now I'm not strong enough to take on more responsibility and (despite Jesse's idea that the girls are old enough) I don't think the girls are old enough to be THAT responsible.  Jesse's ultimate use for the dog is to have it guard his trailer of lawn equipment during the lawn mowing seasons.  There is a male and female available.  I don't know whether we'll be proud new dog owners or not. 

May it be posted to all that:  "I cleaned off the top of my desk on December 27th" and it still looks nice this morning!!!!  My desk is the biggest catch-all and is located, unfortunately, right inside the front door foyer area.  My desk and the kitchen bar run neck and neck as far as which is the most messy!

Today, Jesse is taking us to lunch and will take us to Wal-Mart to return a few items and do our grocery shopping.  The big predicted snow last night pooped out and was only a mild dusting in our area.  BOY IS IT COLD OUTSIDE, today!  After another few days of 40's and lower temperatures, we are supposed to have some warmer air for a week.  I hope it's not too cold when James arrives.  It's chilly and damp in Tacoma/Seattle, but not quite as cold and nippy as the Oklahoma air.

I had better dry my hair so I'm ready when Jesse calls. 

Where, oh WHERE, DO I BEGIN????!!!!!!!!

My tenderloin beef roast was raw to rare when I cut into it Monday night.  Everything, including  the rolls, was ready to be served and I had a raw roast!  I quickly decided to cut the roast into 1 1/2" thick slices and fan it out.  I popped it back in the oven (setting the timer for 15 minutes) and rechecked it.  Still raw to rare.  I popped it back in for 10 minutes and left it there an additional 5 minutes while I rewarmed the potatoes, green beans, and rolls.  Yes, that's right, I left the roast in the oven too long.  We like medium rare meat and this was medium well except for the one piece Stephanie had that was medium.  A tenderloin roast is always tender, even if it's cooked well, WELL done, so "the flavor" was good.  Potatoes were half warm, as were the green beans, and (by now) crusty dinner rolls. 

Oh, well, I had the next day's breakfast casserole and turkey dinner to redeem myself!

Luci woke up everyone (including me, although I had planned to be the first one up) on Tuesday, and I turned on the oven, popped in the breakfast casserole I had assembled the night before, and brought the turkey in from the garage refrigerator.  The timer for the breakfast casserole went off and I removed the casserole and popped in our (now seasoned)  turkey for a 2:00pm lunch/dinner.

After opening our few gifts, I cut into the casserole to serve it and it was the biggest, watery mess I have ever seen!  I think either the "low fat" half and half or the cheaper, Wal-Mart brand, mild (not sharp) pre-grated cheddar cheese (I had bought to save money) was the culprit.  Either way, it was inedible.  Jesse NEVER throws out food, but he could only pick out the sausage from the casserole and woefully dumped the remaining 2/3s in the trash.  Mind you, I've made this casserole successfully for years and *thought* it was impossible to ruin.

Oh, well, I STILL had the turkey dinner to redeem myself!  Right?!!!

I was determined to not stress over any of our celebrating and meals (remember, I had made everything SUPER easy on myself, menu-wise?????) and sat down to watch a movie with my family.  We were in the den with the fireplace roaring.  On several occasions I was aware that I couldn't smell the turkey, but was determined I would NOT get up to check on the food because I was GOING TO ENJOY  AND RELAX with the family.  I also kind of told myself the fireplace wood was really smoking and THAT'S why I couldn't smell the turkey cooking.  The smoky wood was overriding the smells from the kitchen.  (Yeah, that's it.  The smoke was overriding the oven smells!  Yeah, right!)  I began to get ready to prepare my turkey side dishes and asked Jesse if he could smell turkey cooking.  He couldn't.  I asked him to open the oven door and see if there was a turkey smell, which he proceeded to do and inform me THE OVEN HAD NOT BEEN TURNED ON!!!!!!!!!!!  In my ever efficient manner, I had taken out the breakfast casserole, turned the oven off, and then, absentmindedly,  placed the turkey in the oven, not realizing the oven was cool and not hot.  I was furious with myself!

Stephanie and Jesse said no problem and I should just stay calm.  Stephanie said, "Just laugh about it, Mom!  You never mess up anything and this will be a funny story in the future."  I failed, at the time, to see much humor in the situation and wondered what I would serve these starving people who had nibbled around the kitchen after viewing the unsuccessful breakfast casserole catastrophe!  I remembered I had some Sara Lee sandwich meat and proceeded to make sandwiches for everyone while Stephanie got ready to go to work (her restaurant didn't close on Christmas day).

I turned the oven on and sent Stephanie on her way with a sandwich, Cheetos, and a slice of pumpkin cheesecake all neatly wrapped up on a paper plate slipped into a giant baggie!  (rolling my eyes!)  Soon (within 3 1/2 hours) the turkey smelled WONDERFUL and 30 minutes later I checked it with a meat thermometer.  It registered done and I decided to lower the oven to 170 degrees (warm) to keep it warm without (hopefully) drying it out.  I figured we could eat around 6pm and have an evening turkey meal.  No great loss - except to Stephanie.

Soon after Stephanie had left, she called to say there were too many waitresses scheduled and the manager had told her she could go home.  Back to our house she came, commenting (as she walked through the front door) about how wonderful the turkey smelled.  We watched another movie together.

At 6pm, I took out the turkey to let it sit on the counter while I made instant mashed potatoes, gravy from the turkey juices, corn, glazed carrots, and MORE dinner rolls.  All was hot and ready and I began to carve into the breast WHICH WAS SLIGHTLY PINK!!!!!!!!!!!  "No way!" I thought.  The skin was peeled back from the legs (as if the whole bird was overcooked) and I used the meat thermometer again to check the breast.  What did it register?????  Bingo!  Raw around the bone!!!!!!  I was fit to be tied!!!!

Stephanie and Jesse came running into the kitchen and said we could just eat leftover roast.  I seriously doubted there was enough left, but it was our only option .  But, how would I heat it up and have it taste decent?????  Fortunately, I had poured the pan drippings over the leftover sliced meat the night before and I place the meat in a Corningware dish and drizzled the juice over the slices.  I heated it for several minutes in the microwave and turned it and reheated, and turned it and reheated . . . until I felt it was warmed through.  I could only wonder how WELL DONE it was becoming, being nuked in a microwave and all.  Surprisingly, it wasn't ruined, just way overcooked for out taste buds. 

As I pulled the turkey side dishes together, I slopped food everywhere.  On the floor.  On the back of the stove.  Into the burner drip pans.  Then, somehow!!!!!, hit the bottom of the microwave's vent-a-hood and one of the screens fell from the fan into the turkey gravy (for which I had no use, now that I was serving beef!).  I was so frustrated with myself and said, "Good grief, Cher' you'd think you've never seen a kitchen before!"

So we had (once again) beef tenderloin with the turkey's side dishes!  It was okay, but hard for me to relax and enjoy.  I put the turkey BACK in the oven, we watched yet ANOTHER movie and somewhere around 8:30pm I removed the turkey to the top of the stove.  I remember thinking, "I am SO DONE with cooking.  I don't care to cook for the next 50 years!"  Of course, that's assuming I live to be 105 years old!!!  But, after two days of ruining food, I felt about 105 years old!!!!

Jesse had said we could just eat the turkey on Wednesday night.  Wednesday morning I had a doctor's appointment (a recheck and some blood work) and when I returned to the house, Jesse called and said maybe we could go out for dinner that night.  I'm not sure if he recognized my mental overload and wanted to give me a reprieve from the kitchen,  or if he really just wanted some decent food!!!

We DID go out last night.  Up to the corner to a restaurant with a menu that has a good variety of items.  Then, we went to look at the lights in the park.  I was O-U-T by 10pm and didn't wake up until almost 8am this morning.  That's the most sleep I've had in a long time!  I was truly exhausted!

I say all of that to say this:  No matter how much you think of yourself or your talents, there's always room for mistakes.  I'm laughing today (Stephanie was right) but what a disaster.  Maybe this won't have to happened to me for another 10, or so, years!  I know I'm not the sharpest blade in the drawer these days, and the doctor assured me hormones and thyroid imbalance are playing a great part - AND he DID get a kick out of my turkey story; but, I hope to not put myself through another cooking fiasco for a long, long time.  It was like having a nightmare where you wake up, go back to sleep, and the dream continues!!!!

Menu for tonight:  Turkey

Saturday we had (literally) a blizzard descend upon us!  Some areas of the city had white-out conditions!  It was amazingly beautiful and VERY unusual for Oklahoma.  We kept the fire going to stay warm, and I wrapped (and wrapped, and wrapped, or at least that's how it felt!!!) gifts.  Then, I tied them (and tied them, and tied them!!!) with ribbon.  Rissy helped me with her finger by holding the ribbon while I tied it off in knots!  Saturday evening I felt like my back was permanently bent in the shape of a candy cane, because of leaning over our dining room table wrapping boxes all day!

Today I have to vacuum, dust, and bake a pumpkin pie.  Not too much of a "To Do" list, at all.  All of the large dishes are washed and need to be put away, and the dishwasher is empty - a *GOOD* thing!  Paper plates are the serving "pieces of choice" for breakfast and lunch!  We can eat sandwiches or leftovers before our big meal tonight. 

I made a discovery yesterday . . . I am almost out of salt.  Those of you who have seen my pantry (shelves and shelves of groceries) understand how odd it is for me to run out of something that is so basic.  I knew there had to be salt somewhere and looked behind my storage baskets on my pantry shelves - the ones that hold spices & herbs.  I kept thinking the box of salt surely had rolled behind something else in my pantry.  Unless it's in a "wrong" area and is hiding behind some green beans, there is no salt to be had in my house.  I have two small size salt shakers (one for the table and one for the stove area) that are less than half full!  I have enough to make the pumpkin pie, but not much left over.  Jesse's heat/air friend (who is now living in our subdivision) said he'd go by the store for us and bring some salt AND some half & half this morning.  Jesse is working again today.  He's cutting down more trees that the ice storm damaged.  I need the half & half for the breakfast casserole I'll put together tonight and bake in the morning.  What was that I said last Thursday about not making a traditional last minute Christmas grocery store trip?????  Well, technically, *I'm* not making the trip . . . !!!!

Menu plans:

Monday night: 
Beef tenderloin roast (medium rare), twice baked potatoes, uncut & buttered green beans with slivered almonds, and Hawaiian sweet rolls.

Tuesday morning: 
Breakfast casserole and fruit juices.

Tuesday afternoon: 
Turkey, white mashed potatoes, gravy, extra sweet corn, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, and Hawaiian rolls.

Don't know if I'll have time to write again before Wednesday.  Stephanie and JanaLyn are coming over this afternoon and we've rented some movies (I actually just opened a Blockbuster's card) to keep us occupied for the next few days in front of the fire.  That's IF we can all stay awake after eating such big meals!

My doctor is willing to see them at 10am this morning, so this was a rushed start, to say the least!

Fortunately, I finished my grocery shopping, etc., yesterday and only have to wrap some things.  I splurged on a pecan pie, carrot cake, and some mini chocolate bakery cookies to save me from having to fix desserts over the next 3 days.  I'm so glad I did that.  Wal-Mart's bakery isn't as good as home made, but it's better than no made!  LOL

Today is supposed to be near 70 degress and tomorrow low 30's with rain and snow.  Can't imagine why everyone is having sinus problems?????!!!!

Maybe I'll write more later, IF I HAVE THE TIME, and if I don't write, I'll write again this week end.,

I got my packages in the mail, all except Jesse's boots he ordered that were too small.  The one and ONLY thing he asked me to do while he was gone.  I felt horrible.  I don't know how I overlooked them.  They are sitting on a file cabinet here next to my desk, and I even filled out the return paperwork yesterday morning.  I started out the door and realized they weren't even wrapped and packaged to go back.  We HAD to leave because it was almost 2pm and we hadn't had our "girls out" lunch! 

We went to Chili's for lunch and Rissy and I had their Old Timer cheeseburger and Annamarie ordered a pizza from the children's menu.  Annamarie enjoys the children's menu items but Rissy prefers adult fare and can usually finish an adult plate of food.  We went to the post office after that and then came home.  I emptied the dishwasher and reloaded it with large items I had planned to wash by hand.  That just leaves a small mountain of large hand washables for me today.

Luci wanted to eat at McDonald's last night, since her sisters had gone with me to Chili's.  I splurged and bought Happy Meals (something we NEVER, EVER buy).  I also stopped at our local Braum's ice cream store and bought a 1/2 gallon of Peppermint Ice Cream.  They have 3 or 4 flavors they bring out only around the holidays (egg nog and pumpkin pie come to mind) and the girls LOVE peppermint ice cream.

Rissy had a restless night.  She woke me up out of a sound sleep to tell me Annamarie (who decided to sleep with Rissy last night) was hogging the bed and wouldn't wake up and move over.  I heard her a couple of times roaming around the house and she ended up sleeping on Jesse's side of the bed with me sometime after those night time walks!  I was aware of me sleeping, waking up several times, and her being awake next to me.  I'm not sure WHY she couldn't sleep.  I know we all miss Jesse and our girls suffer terribly every time he's away.  Luci has been hard to handle (lots of crying and fit throwing) and Rissy said Annamarie cried herself to sleep Monday night because she missed her Daddy.  I KNOW Rissy misses him because she's such a Daddy's girl.  She expresses herself better and just calls him frequently and leaves "I love you" messages if he doesn't answer.  If things go as he plans, he'll be home for dinner tonight.

After taking Luci to daycare this morning, the two girls and I will clean, clean, clean around here.  Dusting, vacuuming, mopping tile floors, and doing the laundry are chores that are all way behind.  I told them I wanted to wrap a few gifts today.  I should be able to do it in front of them since EVERYTHING is in white boxes this year.

I had one of Emily's brownies for breakfast today.  Incredibly good!  I have been wanting to make some fudge and Wal-Mart has been out of their marshmallow cream in the smaller size jar.  I just haven't had the energy to bake this year and the fudge may have to wait until January.  Of course, chocolate is good ANY time of the year!  I'll make a pumpkin pie and serve the pumpkin cheesecake next week and that may be the extent of our holiday sweets. 

Our tenth anniversary is January 2nd and I have a hotel suite (with double spa tub) booked for two days.  I don't know if we'll end up going or not.  Since Stephanie is in a cast and was off work for 6 days (she would be the babysitter) and we're behind with all we should have done when the ice and snow came . . . and then there's the fact Jesse has been gone recently . . . it may not be a good idea to leave the children for two days.  They have become such creatures of habit and routine.  They find those routines comforting.  Breaking the routine again almost seems cruel.  Maybe we'll just go out to dinner to a new restaurant.  Getting married January 2nd wasn't a good idea as far as future anniversaries and celebrating them.  By January 2nd, we're tired of eating, tired of all the hustle and bustle, and usually wanting to get back into a normal routine.  We've never exchanged gifts on our anniversary, so at least we don't have to give gifts after just giving gifts!!!  We're both hard to buy for and need nothing.  So, we'll see how this anniversary pans out.  May not be a restaurant but just a quiet time at home with a special meal.

I need to get Luci to daycare and then set our cleaning crew to work!

Jesse called early and said he was going to wait until tomorrow morning to come back home.   He may be here in time for tomorrow night's dinner.  He stayed up late and had a nice time visiting with his cousins.  He said he really enjoyed the evening, and I'm glad for him.

Emily called even earlier than Jesse, this morning, and is very sick with a sore throat and sinus problems.  She felt bad that she couldn't come here to clean, but (the truth is) I was thinking of canceling so I could get more things done.  I took Luci to daycare (when I FINALLY got off of the phone!) and then came home and put together a care package for Emily and ran it up to her house.  She lives VERY close and I was glad to return some of the kindness she's shown our family.  Of course, I didn't leave there empty handed - it WAS Emily I visited!!!  She gave us some leftover (DELICIOUS) brownies that her family won't finish.  Robert woke up with a sore throat today too, so I'm guessing nothing except tea or soup sounds good to them. Since I have NO dessert items except a few store-bought cookies, her brownies were welcome!

Short of a few gift cards for some people, I just have wrapping left and then I can concentrate on picking up the junk around the house.  I am feeling REALLY good these days, but find I am still very limited on how much I can do in one day.  I really have to be conscious of pacing myself and take sit-down breaks, usually in front of the TV.  I flip through all 900 channels wondering why we subscribe to cable when there's not much we want to watch!  I can keep moving for a little longer than i could a few weeks ago and not have to go to bed so early (7:30pm was REALLY early!!) and still feel decent when I wake up the next day.  No lung problems, no weakness, and no headaches.  Life is good!

We have snow in the forecast for Saturday - another reason I am trying to finish things up today and tomorrow.  Thursday and Friday are the girls' standing appointments and that always takes a chunk out of my days.  I promised Annamarie and Rissy that we would go to lunch and today is the day.  I'm going to take off my errand clothes, hop in the shower, wrap the mailing gifts, take the girls to lunch, and then head up to the post office to mail my stuff.  I'm pretty sure there is enough food in the refrigerator for leftovers tonight.  I made chili-mac last night and the girls (all three) told me I was a great cook!!!  A box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a can of chili with beans . . . Again, I ask, "Why do I try so hard to please everyone?????"  LOL !!!!   I talked to Stephanie last night and she even said, "Ohhhh!  I was waiting for you to fix that while I was staying with you.  That's one of my favorite things that you cook!" 

Maybe I should "cook" chili-mac for our holiday dinners and forget the expensive beef tenderloin dinner on the 24th and the turkey on the 25th!!!!!!

Jesse said, if his uncle continues to be this alert and stable, he might come on home Tuesday or earlier Wednesday, rather than late Wednesday night.  He feels he's said "good-bye" to his uncle and there is no reason for him to stay in Louisiana with us at home alone, the weather being unpredictable, and the holidays so close.

We're doing fine here.  Stephanie and JanaLyn left this morning.  Stephanie took Luci to daycare, JanaLyn to HER daycare, and then went into work.  She called to ask me for our doctor's phone number.  Seems the manager took one look at Stephanie's cast and said she'd have to have a work release before she could work.  I guess the doctor's office can fax that to the restaurant.

This morning, after everyone left for the day, I got up from my desk and headed down the hall.  Our home has had such an ever changing amount of people these past few weeks that I was thinking how quiet it was with just Annamarie, Rissy, and me.  Then I noticed someone in the king size bed.  I could see long dark hair hanging off the edge of the bed from under the blankets and partially on the pillow.  I stopped and tried to decide who in the world THAT was and I realized it was Annamarie's "American Girl" doll!!!!  I couldn't figure out who "that person" could be that was sleeping in our bed!  Just when you think you've gotten rid of everyone . . . !!!

My plan is to wrap up my packages that need to be mailed and get those IN the mail and then try to make it to Sam's to get meat for our holiday meals.  I'll fix a turkey on the 25th (NOT with Thanksgiving sides - just regular potatoes and veggies) and either a standing rib roast or beef tenderloin roast on the 24th.  BUT, with our surprise weather, I'd feel more comfortable having those items purchased and in my freezer now, rather than waiting until later in the week to shop.

Speaking of weather, the trash men are running an extra trip this week and are outside on the street collecting all of the trees and limbs that fell during the ice storm last week.  We only lost a bush in our front walkway area.  It was a bush that went just above the lowest part of the roof and stayed green year round with red berries in the winter.  I'll miss it.  There's a chance that the stump might grow part of the bush back.  If it does, we'll keep it trimmed back very low (below the window sill) from now on.  This is the second time ice has bent it and threatened to kill it.  I guess water trickles off of the eaves of the house right onto the poor thing and weighs it down.

I better get moving if I expect to accomplish anything today.  It's a little windy and still pretty chilly.  I'm not looking forward to leaving the warmth of my home to run errands - but things must be done!