December 5, 2007

• Jesse's Birthday Bash Day

  Yesterday, I did lots with our family.  It was Jesse's birthday.  It started with Emily bringing him a birthday cake (lemon) around 10:30am.  She wasn't able to clean the house (she had an eye infection beginning) but stopped to bring the cake and a card to Jesse.  He LOVED her cake, lemon being his favorite flavor, and he was very surprised.

  Since Emily didn't stay to clean, we were able to take Jesse in for a noon massage appointment and the girls and I went to Wal-Mart to kill time for an hour.  I did a bit of shopping for gifts and snacks etc. (things that wouldn't perish in the car, since we didn't plan to go home until the end of the day).  We picked him up a little after 1pm and went to a buffet for lunch.   Nikki and Jaiden called while we were there and little Jaiden "sang" the Happy Birthday song to him.  He was pleased.  He said she sang "Happ Birday to du; Happ Birday to du; da la da la da la, PoPo; Happ Birday to duuuuuuu!"  Pretty cute!

  From there, we drove downtown to pick up his requested cake from "Leo's Barbecue."  They called me that morning because they said they forgot to ask me if I knew they had moved.  I DIDN'T know and was grateful for the call, with their less-than-explicit directions to the new location!!  Somehow, we found the restaurant and walked in at 2 minutes before 3pm.  She was glad to see us because they close at 3pm!  Another piece of information she had neglected to tell me!  As I was getting into the car, two guys in a van stopped me (gulp!) and said to give them the cake because she had given me the wrong one.  Mind you, these are basic two layer, round shaped cakes and all look the same.  YOU dress them with fresh bananas and strawberries right before you serve them.  I clutched my cake and asked, "Whaaat?!"  He repeated that my cake was a day-old cake, the gal was new, and she didn't know what she was doing.  I figured it was just a cake and not worth getting into a street brawl over, so I reluctantly handed over my cake and he said, "Come back in and I'll get a fresh one for you."  This is NOT the best side of town and despite my caution, I followed him inside.   Jesse was right there in the Suburban with the girls AND a cell phone, so I figured I was safer than if I had been there alone.  Sure enough, my cake had been taken from a 2-day-old shelf.  I was glad he had noticed and was kind enough to stop me.  I reprimanded myself for being suspicious just because of the side of town I was in - literally "the other side of the tracks" - which was under the railroad track bridge and in a sleazy, undeveloped area.

  We left with the cake and drove back to our house to take a breather - me, more than anyone else.  The Wal-Mart hour long walk (truthfully, just plain getting dressed  with hair and all) had made me shaky.  I've been no where in weeks except my doctor's appointment last week.  We unloaded the groceries onto the kitchen bar and just hung out until Jesse got a call from the mechanic friend who's been trying to get Stephanie's car going.  He had a window of time to work and was in the driveway.  Jesse changed into some work clothes and gave me instructions to come get him at 5:20p, and he told the friend it was his birthday and he had to leave at 5:45p.  They still haven't figured out the problem with the car.  I think it's become a "guy-thing" with the mechanic because he can fix ANYTHING and this has him really stumped!

  I picked up Luci, had her sign Jesse's birthday card at the daycare, came back to the house, and Jesse was dressed and ready to go to dinner.  We had delicious steaks and great service and the girls' (including Luci) used their best manners.  A VERY enjoyable evening.

  When we came home, the girls got ready for bed and then Jesse opened his one gift from the girls and all of his cards.  He got money from everyone because no one knows what to buy for him.  He's been looking at some expensive boots and a Wii game system, but he has also looked at a new GPS for the cars.  No way was I going to make that call!  I'll leave the selection up to him.  We put part of the fruit on part of the cake and each of us had a slice.  He said Emily's cake tasted better than the restaurant's cake (which ended up being a yellow cake and NOT lemon).  We sang the family birthday song to him (not the usually "Happy Birthday to You" song) and Luci went to bed.  I followed Luci, and then the girls followed me.  Jesse said he came to bed around 11p but had a hard time getting to sleep.

  I think he had a nice birthday.

  Along with all of the birthday things going on yesterday, I got some disturbing test results in the mail from last week's lab work.  One of our stops on the way home from dinner was to pick up a prescription of steroids.  I have to return December 26th and talk with the doctor AND redo some lab work.  Worst case scenario is my arteries in my head (including carotid arteries in my neck) may be inflamed.  Of course, I did some research yesterday afternoon online and didn't read anything I wanted to hear.  He said a biopsy of my temporal artery (at least a one inch incision over my ear) might be necessary.  I'm hoping the steroids reduce the inflammation and the headaches were a one time deal or just a reaction to a virus and not "temporal arteritis," which could leave me permanently blind or give me a heart attack.  The listed symptoms are an eerily close match to my own symptoms.  I'll try not to think about it until I see the doctor again at the end of this month and will believe (with high hopes) that I had a virus or rebound headaches.  At this point, rebound headaches sound more appealing than my vascular system being inflamed in my brain.

  Weathermen are saying we may have an ice storm this coming week end.  Some snow, but most likely sleet and freezing rain.  There isn't anything I can think of that we need besides some more milk.  You never know whether things will blow past Oklahoma or come in stronger than anyone anticipates.   It could be a 50 degree weekend and overcast, or it could dump 6" of snow.  Oklahoma weather is just too unpredictable.

  We have been blessed by receiving more free firewood and the exact kind/size we need.  Jesse collected larger logs from his brother's property last month (for free), but we had no smaller branches, or "stick size" logs, to help the fire get started.  That's exactly what he is collecting today - for free.  He just called and said he gave the guy $25 for his trouble when he collected all of the wood for himself.  It was more than the guy needed, and he was happy to unload some of it.  Jesse insisted on giving him the money.

  I need to get around here so I can help unload the trailer when Jesse gets home.  The fresh air will do me a lot of good, I'm sure!

  • 12:14 pm
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