I Had a Sandwich Last Night...

I think it was the best damn sandwich I've ever eaten...or maybe it's my lack of carbs and bread that had me inhaling it like a crack fiend. Then, I had the pleasure of a Skinny Cows sundae cone. Love those things (and I'm not a huge ice cream fan). Hubby says he'll tweak my meals again after this week (following my cleansing, as he calls it). I hope the new menu includes buckets of pasta. Indy was eating a Banquet meal spaghetti dinner yesterday and I thought I might attack her for a noodle. So, sad.

Reading Books...for real?

Yep! I can't even believe it myself. My ex coworker bought me the text you see to the left for my Christmas present. I started the book in June, but haven't had a "full steam ahead" burst to finish it. I'm on chapter 20 or so, but as you can see, that probably hits the first third of the book (not very far along at all). It's about the famous Count Drakul the Impaler and his exploits in history. Seems the Count has resurfaced and we should all be on our guard. There is a lot of traveling, historical references and long diatribes. I've found the book interesting, but definitely not one that I'm having trouble putting down.

Because of all the noise about the book on the right, I decided I needed to be "in the know" before the movie comes out this fall. I'm a fan of the vampires, so I thought I'd give it a go. So far, so good. I'm on about chapter 5 or 6 and moving along nicely. There are other books in the series so, I'll probably purchase those as well (I would have checked this book out from the library, but the catalog online indicated that a return date was "undetermined". This usually means several people have it on hold and who knows how many people are standing in line to read this). I can already understand why there's such excitement around it. Everyone loves and underdog (and that's all I'll say).

I'm planning a date for me and hubby this weekend. Not sure how I ended up as the planner. Just last week, he was planning and asked if I could get my sister to watch our kids. She couldn't because she had a date...plans squashed. Now, she's able to watch them this weekend and I have no idea what we're going to do. I think we'll finally see the great Bat but I can't find movie times (I don't think they'll be posted until tomorrow). And dinner? Huh! With the plan hubby has me on, I'll be lucky if I can eat anything that didn't have a pulse at one point. Perhaps we can go to the "all-you-can-meat" Brazilian restaurant. From what I hear, they visit your table with an assorted array of meats that you can just eat, and eat, and eat. Oh, my kingdom for a slice of bread!

Weird Dreams

I had the craziest dream last night that still has me scratching my head. I was with old roommates and various people from my college days for some sort of reunion get together. Half of the people I was hangin' with were people I would never associate with. Then, out of nowhere, Mr. Will Smith himself appears and starts telling me that he needs me to help him hide. WTF? First of all, where did you come from and second, why are you asking me?

Well, not to be uncharitable, I try to find an undisclosed location for him to hide and succeed. He's so grateful, that he tells me he'll send me something. Then, he gives me his email address. The user name of which? PoundPuppy. Again, wtf? He then leaves the location, shortly after urging me to put him there, then gets jumped by a mob of fans. It's your own damn fault, man.I tried to help you.

Hubby says that, when he woke up, I was wrapped all around him. We usually awaken on opposite sides of the bed...not because we don't like being near each other, but because he's a freakin' furnace and it's just too hot to sleep too close together. Blast his metabolism! When he called me this morning to talk, he said that he didn't sleep well and that he woke up sweating. Wonder if, between the two of us, that's where the weird dreams came from. I'm really surprised that I didn't dream about runners because that's the last thing we did before bed; Watch Usai.n Bolt win the gold for Jamaica. Why wasn't he in my dream? Too weird.

Barely Breathing and Birthdays

So, after visiting the babe's regular pediatrician, she ended up having pneumonia. That explains the zombie-like state and the lack of appetite. A little antibiotics, albuterol and prednisone later, she's 100% again. Her real doctor also diagnosed her with mild asthma. Well, I guess I can't say I didn't see it coming. She's had episodes with her breathing since birth. At least we can maintain her active lifestyle with regular treatments. She was really scared when he gave us the diagnosis, but has since grown used to the new schedule.

The party was sensational! Truly! She had so much fun. The girls arrived in their "diva gear" and went right to my kitchen table to eat (bagel bites, chips & dip, corn-dog bites, veggies and virgin daiquiris with whipped cream). The drinks were served in plastic wine goblets, which the girls just loved. After eating, they went downstairs to my newly, decorated diva-style basement and sang karaoke for about an hour. They sang alone, together, the same songs and the rest. Indy was running around all over the place. As soon as her sister had the mike, she'd try to take it, then she'd start to cry when her sister wouldn't give it to her. Drama (diva-drama). I video-taped all the girls as well to capture their "moments in the sun" for all eternity.

Once the singing was done, they danced for about ten minutes (disco ball and all), then came back upstairs for cake and present openings. What a haul! As if she didn't need any more crap in her room. I keep threatening to go in there and clean it out....hmm. Now, I think I may just have to.

The girls danced until their parents arrived and departed with super take-home gifts to boot. Ring pops, glow sticks, hair accessories and plastic bling. Why didn't they have parties like this when I was growing up? Each girl also got a prize for performing (most High School Musical and Hannah Montana garbage) Ugh! I'll be glad when she's over that stuff.

My best friend was here for the entire weekend and I nearly fell apart when I had to take her to the airport on Monday. Before she left, I downloaded and created DVDs for all the girls, including her, as a thank you for being there. She was great to have around for moral support (and crowd control). My girls were also thrilled to have their god-mother around. Hubby was great too, but of course, the daddies are different. Honestly, I'm just glad that the babe had a memorable 8th birthday party, I got time with my best friend and all the sick-voodoo seems to have left my house.

My Zombie Girl

The babe (my oldest) was complaining of illness this past Saturday. We ended up seeing the Mummy 3 and she was absent for most of the movie. She had stomach angst and overall, just felt crummy. She also had a low-grade fever that carried over into Sunday. We stayed for our first church service, then had to leave right after (she cried the latter part of the service because she just felt so bad). Through the week, the low-grade fever remained but she had periods of wellness, so I just assumed a small bug. Wednesday, we ended up at after-hours care...two hours later, some X-rays and a hungry toddler later, we left with little more knowledge than when we came in.

The babe has also lost four pounds (from where?!) and is extremely weak. She really hasn't eaten anything since last Friday and it's just breaking my heart, watching her drag herself from place to place...not wanting to do anything (and with her birthday only a week away!) Poor kid. The doctors at the after-hours place do the best they can, but I'm calling her pediatrician this morning and getting an appointment, post-haste! I would have earlier, but her doctor is 30+ miles away. My mom was like, "It may be time to change doctors," but I'm sure you all know what that's like.
She's got to have something more than a, "it's probably a virus so, drink more liquids and "eat lots of Popsicles" response. It's been nearly seven days! I told my hubby last night that when I had my bronchitis a month ago, the doctor told me he thought it was a virus. Still, he prescribed low-dose antibiotics because I'm sure he knew it would help boost my immunity. I felt better a half hour after the first dose. I'm praying her doctor (or the team at her clinic) will do the same. I just hate seeing her like this!

On the work front, my co-worker has turned in her resignation and it couldn't happen at a more inopportune time. Our schedule usually picks up mid August, then we get slammed in September. There's no way we're going to find someone to replace her and train before the rush. My other coworker doesn't' do all of the things that I do, which will make this even more interesting. I'm glad for her that she's doing something she needs to do, to get herself well (but it really sucks for us). I just hope the rest of the world can be somewhat patient with us while we compensate for the missing body. I told my boss to hire during the summer. I really wish he'd taken my advice on that point.

Party Planning

The soon-to-be 8 year old is going to have a birthday party (if she doesn't get into to too much trouble over the next couple of weeks). We've been struggling with her remembering things and being responsible. I know she's young but it's quite frustrating telling her things over, and over, and over again. Simple things like remembering to make-up her bed before she leaves her room in the morning, or putting her shoes in her closet when she takes them off. I don't think we're asking the world of her and I wonder if it's just the "lazy days of summer" that have her forgetting her name and everything else. I've got her reading chapter books again to get her warmed up for school. Hopefully, the neurons will start firing and she'll again have a clue (but, sadly, I'm not hopeful). My girlfriend said that it's the age. I was told the same thing about the whinnying we experienced last year. She cried about everything! The good news is that she doesn't anymore.

As for the party, I've done it on a budget, but it should be a lot of fun if everyone she invited actually shows. My mother is lending me her Karaoke machine and the girls will be able to do Karaoke and dance for the party. I have this really cool video camera now, so I'll probably tape all the girls' performances and make them available to the parents on disc. I hope I remember (speaking of memories) because I tend to get all spacey when a lot of people are demanding my attention. I suppose I can make a point to set up the camera on the tripod during the decorating process. I even bought a disco ball that has it's own light source! Hubby and I were playing with it the other night. He said it was hypnotic...I guess that's good.

The babe has no idea what's planned for her, but she'll know soon enough when we deliver the invites which will include a disc with some of the songs the girls can perform. She's so excited, but I keep telling her that party plans are contingent on her behavior. Invitations and arrangements can still be canceled. Am I an evil mommy?

Meanwhile, hubby is on the, "Where do you want to retire," kick these past few days. It's amazing just to get through one day, let alone try to figure out what I'll do during retirement. I envision "early bird" specials, bowling, lots of cruises and dinner parties. Are my visions of an age long gone, considering that social security will be long gone? I might as well ask him if he wants a martini when he arrives home from work. Let's really talk about an age long gone!

Nothing new is happening with me. I'm still on the same track I was and will be for a while. I have a meeting with my boss tomorrow that could change the way things are. Unfortunately, my coworker (who is very unhappy and hates her job) may have changed my outlook with her meeting with him today. My other coworker said that she went straight to his office this morning and the door went shut. Not a good sign. She was out last week due to illness. The week before, she called me and cried about how miserable she is. It's probably for the best, but my boss's outlook on my work schedule may change drastically because of it. I guess we'll soon see.