My Dogs Are Barking

I love four day weekends. I especially love them when I can spend the majority of my time on the porch with a glass of iced tea and a good book.

This has not been one of those four day weekends.

Instead, I have spent sixteen hours of each day on my feet, cooking, cleaning, climbing up and down attic ladders, hauling boxes to and fro, climbing a ladder to the top of my entertainment center to organize my village display (side note: skip a year of putting the damn thing up and any understanding of cord management seems to vanish into thin air), putting up the trees, decorating the trees, hanging garland, swearing in frustration when the garland lights refuse to glow, tearing down said garland, replacing light strands, re-hanging garland, decorating the porch, and feeding my family turkey leftovers.

I've been a little busy, is my point.

I did, however, take a moment to enjoy my Thanksgiving birthday. Hugh and the kids aided in that effort with the prettiest gift that I have received in quite some time...

...I can't wait to wear it.

I also took a moment to enjoy a glass of wine, which, is to be expected since my supply was so nicely replenished by my friends (God bless them).

One thing I have not done is shop. I boycotted the whole "Thanksgiving Day/Black Friday" shopping experience on principal: Families should get to spend the holiday with their families, not refereeing fights between idiot shoppers. And, the thought of breaching the doors of the Hellmouth for even something as simple as a gallon of milk gave me hives, so; I will catch up on Christmas preparations later in the week.

In the meantime, I have Christmas cards to address, a million cookies to bake, and, Christmas movies to watch on DVD and The Hallmark Channel. And, I still have two days in which to do it.

Bonus!

This Is Shaping Up to be the Best Birthday, Ever

Yesterday, my co-workers surprised me with a bunch of balloons, a Starbucks gift card, and a bouquet crafted entirely of mini wine bottles and herbal tea bags. They know me so well, it's scary.

Today, Jules surprised me at the hardware store with a bottle of wine while on her way to spend Thanksgiving with her parents in Neighboring City. She also knows me so well, it's scary.

My actual birthday is tomorrow.

I'm going to have more than enough wine to make it a holiday to remember. And, it goes without saying that I am thankful for the awesome women in my life, although, I am totally saying it, anyway. And, I'm not just saying it because of the wine.

But, I think you know me well enough to know that.

In Which We Kiss the Notion of a Relaxing Weekend Goodbye

It's a good thing I have rediscovered my energy reserves, because, if I hadn't, this weekend would have completely kicked my ass. As it is, I am a tad bit tired and looking forward to an early night tonight.

What kept me so busy? Well, let's see:

Friday, after working a full day, I headed to the bank in Hooterville to volunteer at my women's club's annual holiday fundraiser. The Teenager accompanied me and was quickly put to work at the coat check while I spent the evening selling tickets at the front door. I did get a chance to take some pictures of the venue, however.

The event was a huge success, as usual, and; every item was auctioned off at the best possible price, securing the funds necessary for our club to continue to do our work in the community.

Following the event, The Teenager and I went out for a bite of dinner before returning home to catch a few winks before driving to Neighboring City early the next morning. Our mission for the day: Christmas shopping (success!), bulk food buying (success!), and, selling some of The Teenager's old clothing to a consignment shop (really successful!).

By the time we got home, I was ready for a nap. Unfortunately, I still had a few hours to do at the hardware store as well as some housework to do and some craft projects to complete, so; no nap for me. I did, however, sleep quite well that night.

Sunday morning, I got up early to get started on laundry, a chore which is rapidly becoming my weekend nemesis.

I intended to get out on the porch to start my holiday decorating, but,the weather was fairly  dismal, with a combination of rain and snow that continued throughout the day, and it really didn't foster a holiday mood. Instead, the Man-Cub and I went for a drive in the country, ending up at an art studio where one of my friends was hosting a show featuring her pottery. Her work was lovely and quite well received, and; the weather was easily ignored while basking in the glow of her success.

When we left the art show, we did some grocery shopping before racing home to pick up The Teenager for a matinee of the new Hunger Games movie (excellent). Then, it was back home to start preparations for Thanksgiving dinner (yes, already) and to finish up the last of the laundry, freeing some space in the mudroom to set up my wrapping station. Actual present wrapping will happen later today, and, all of my out-of-town packages will be on the road to their new homes well in advance of Thanksgiving.

So, in hindsight, I really didn't accomplish all that much, but, my heavy head this morning might disagree with that.

One Pot Wonder

Last night I tried a new recipe that I had seen making the rounds on Pinterest. The recipe seemed too good to be true: one pot, raw ingredients, ten minutes, and, wa-la! Pasta dinner!

I was skeptical, but, too lazy to think of something different to make, so; I gave it a shot. The basic recipe is as follows:

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used basil and oregano seasoned)
1 onion, cut into slivers
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh basil
1 pkg. linguine
4.5 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. flaked red pepper
2 tsp. oregano
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions: Throw that shit in a pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every two minutes or so until liquid is almost absorbed.

The finished product will look something like this:

I made a couple of tweaks to the recipe, including the addition of a package of frozen meatballs that I had heated in the microwave and drained of grease before throwing in the pot. I also increased the garlic by a few cloves because they were the last cloves from the bulb and I didn't want to see them go to waste. I increased the basil by an extra bunch for the same reason, and, added an additional 3/4 cup of vegetable broth to account for the meatballs.

The verdict? Four-out-of-four family members gave it a solid thumbs-up. Hugh declared it a "keeper", the Man-Cub had seconds, and then, thirds, and, The Teenager said it was good.

 Definitely a recipe that I will make again.

The recipe originated on apronstringsblog.com and they have a host of one-pot pasta recipes that I am now looking forward to trying, and, why not? Less than thirty minutes, one pot to clean, and, tasty as hell.

What's not to love?

In Search Of: The Cat Puke Edition

The first thing I did when I came downstairs this morning was to step in a puddle of cold cat puke. It was not my idea of a good time.

The Law of Averages states that: Where there is one puddle of puke, there is statistically bound to be a second puddle. With that in mind, I did a thorough search of the house, minus the kids' bedrooms since they were still sleeping.

I didn't find anything, which, makes me nervous.

On the bright side, I now have a new chore to occupy my mind while sitting in boring meetings; I can mentally search my home for surprise puke puddles.

Am I living the life, or what?

It's Wise to be Prepared

Today, I was invited to participate on a disaster planning committee at work. The committee will be working on plans for a number of possible disaster scenarios, including those caused by people as well as those caused by nature.

Unfortunately, the committee doesn't plan to work on a scenario dealing with the Zombie Apocalypse, nor do they feel a need to plan for an eventual alien invasion, which, I'm sure we can all agree; are two events worthy of a written document.

So, I declined the offer. Instead, my office mate and I are going to do our own disaster planning. Over drinks and junk food.

As one does.

Productivity: It's My Thang

I have already accomplished a boat-load of chores this weekend; chores that have needed to be done since Jesus was a baby as well as chores that were of a more recent nature, and, the weekend isn't even over! I still have a whole day to cross the rest of the items off my "To Do" list; chores which I would have cheerfully (or, not so cheerfully) ignored just a few months ago (thank you, modern medical establishment!) but, am now tackling with gusto! It's awesome!

Here is a breakdown of the things I have finished and a bullet list of things yet to do, today (because I know your lives won't be complete until you have read all about it):

-Friday evening, after working a full day at both jobs, I spent two and a half hours chaperoning a lock-in at the High School.

-Saturday morning, The Teenager and I went to Hooterville, where we spent three hours setting up the bank for next Friday night's Festival of Trees. During that three hours, we hung up four wreaths, set up three fully decorated trees, placed numerous centerpieces, washed and dried over a hundred beer steins and even more wine glasses, ran bid sheets around the building, and gossiped with my fellow members of my service club.

-Once we were finished at the bank, The Teenager and I shopped for a number of small items at the local Target while plotting the best way to leave the channel of communication between The Teenager and the Man-Cub open once The Teenager goes to college; you know, in case he needs advice about girls or some other topic that he is too embarrassed to talk to his parents about (insert sad face, here).

-After shopping, we went to lunch. Because we deserved it.

-When I got home, I spent five hours vacuuming the upstairs living room, rearranging the furniture in that space, and, deep cleaning the entire second floor until it gleamed.

-I also attempted to clean out my hope chest, with the intention of making more room for new items. This endeavor proved to be a bust since I spent a solid hour cooing over the artwork done by both children from pre-school through elementary grades, as well as newspaper clippings, documenting my family's awesomeness, notes, cards, and letters from my offspring (who, clearly loved me with a fierce passion at some point in their childhoods, sniff), and, enough baby teeth to fill the heads of two small children (go figure). I have no earthly idea what purpose it serves to save the teeth, but, I am loathe to discard them, so; back into the chest they went, along with every other scrap of memorabilia. I may need to invest in a second hope chest. I'm sure Hugh will be thrilled.

-After I cleaned, I went to the hardware store to work on the days receipts, before returning to the house for pizza and a movie marathon with the children (Hugh was working at a weekend-long security) before falling into a deeply rewarding sleep.

Today, I plan to knock the following items off my list:

-Clean and organize my craft room, set up my holiday wrapping station.

-Wrap my out-of-town Christmas presents, box those that require postage and set aside the packages that Oscar and Emily will be transporting to Maine for the East Coast family members, later this month.

-Take photos for the annual Christmas card. Design and order said cards.

-Order The Teenager's senior pictures.

-Laundry. Tons and tons of laundry.

-Finish making a holiday garland and wreath that I started a while back.

-Take the Man-Cub on a drive.

-Grocery shopping.

-OPIcure with a new shade of OPI, recently procured from the Mariah Carey Holiday collection.

-Try out a new recipe for an Asian-inspired dish.

And, that about covers it.

You'll notice I haven't scheduled time for a nap. It's like a Christmas miracle!

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