Not a creature was stirring but the wireless mouse
All the family were out at Best Buy to see
If they could get a headphone extension for the living room tv
So that I in my jammies with my good cup of nog
Could get some work done at home (what a job!)
When up from the doorstep arose such a clatter,
I leapt up from my desk to see what was the matter
Away to the restroom I ran in a flash
To look out the window and throw up the sash
The sun was hidden by storm clouds of grey
It felt more like nighttime than the middle of day
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a large man in brown equipped with some gear
His truck had a label and I think you can guess
That I was looking at the great "UPS"
And that's as far as this verse will be penned, for I must get back to my paying work again.
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34 comments:
Liz! You're a poet, and I didn't know it!
Liz for Style! Liz for Style!!
tres stylin', liz!
so far: cranberry sauce; stuffin'; squash is roasting; lemon bars; 7 layer bars; pumpkin tartlets with shortbread crust. honey-baked ham acquired.
still to come: apple pie; prepare veggies + dip. tomorrow: turkey; green beans; wild rice mix; rolls. there will be leftovers.
my car died at the store on friday. beloved has been trying to sort it out, which is keeping him entertained. "battery" is the current diagnosis.
my friend was visiting her mom in southern california, and her mom died unexpectedly while she was there. delivered the excess 7 layer cookies to her house, since she said they are her favorites.
Wonderful, Liz! Love it!
Old Skool Whine that really got to me just now: I decided to take the Baboos to Sonic for a Christmas Eve treat: lunch. (Baboos around the two-preacher household get a bit neglected on Dec 24). And I needed some caffeine, truth be told. Ordered their kids meals w/grilled cheese, apples, and white milk. As usual. Which is what the loud voice repeated back to me. Which is also what is on the receipt. Inside the bags, which I of course did not open till we got home: hamburgers. Neither Baboo will eat hamburgers. I decided to just make the damn grilled cheese rather than load them back in the car to go to Sonic.
Bah humbug.
AW: it is naptime.
oh, no, esperanza!
the apple pie turned out funny-lookin'.... oh, well.
I'm failing at pie crust
Liz: it's way too late at night to be worrying about pie crust. I ALWAYS fail at pie crust, even the pre-made kind. It's a shame I like pie.
it's not so very late here, yet, but here's my plan. [a] shower, jammers. [b] pack up stockings, with pre-sorted items. [c] use box currently holding stocking items to load up unruly extra books in the front room. win, right?
I read an article in the New York Times about a woman with the type of hereditary disease we recently found out we have in our family (my sister was diagnosed, but a number of us have similar symptoms and almost certainly have it too), and it freaked me out. :(
www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/nyregion/a-disease-threatens-a-womans-eyesight-and-art.html?_r=1&
((p_k))
Merry Christmas, pixies! We are a minimalist gifts family, and so we have had a peaceful morning. Off to spend the afternoon with some friends, and then off to the grandparents' tomorrow (if the snow melts).
(((( PK ))))
sounds lovely, esperanza.
merry christmas!
((PK))
Pie crust has been rescued, will probably be tougher than nails, though.
I'm off to go play some of the new games we got this morning. Does anyone here remember Masterpiece?
pie crust doesn't matter so much as the pie proper. my story; sticking to it. ;)
son + GF got us a box that streams netflix, + subsription -- so he and his dad spent an enjoyable time trying to get it to work [serious bonding], and everybody's watching white christmas. except the guests who are running late.
the turkey, of course, finished long ahead of schedule. ah, well -- relaxing family time, anyway!
((PK)) I read that article yesterday. Definitely something to talk to your doctor about, but hopefully it's not as bad as all that. The woman in the story has an amazing spirit, though, and so do you..don't forget!
Merry Christmas, Pixies! I got to experience something this morning that I have been dreaming about literally since two pink lines very unexpectedly appeared on a stick back in May of 2009- two excited, giggling kiddos under the Christmas tree. I'd resigned myself to having only one child, you see, so when I turned up pregnant the second time and was terrified to tell Ari's dad, I thought of Christmas mornings to come and smiled :) The girls totally spazzed out over their presents, too. They've been dressing their new dolls all day and Ari especially loves her new toy kitchen and "food". My SIL got us matching owl aprons in my favorite colors (I also collect both aprons and owls), so we're domestically adorable at the moment :)
Aaand..James just brought Ari to her dad's, which I am trying not to be sad about, especially because she wanted to stay and play. I have no idea if her dad is celebrating beyond making a turkey (he is Jewish by ethnicity but an agnostic, and doesn't celebrate the Jewish holidays, either), and he doesn't have a tree, but hopefully she'll have fun anyway.
It's just James and Seph and me and a plump turkey tonight! Dave and his brother Steve are off to Cozumel for the week, so we all celebrated with the traditional chili dinner last night. We all got spoiled with presents and treats (that's right, my ex-husband and ex-BIL *still* exchange gifts with me, because we're all cool like that), and we got to have yummy leftovers for lunch today, too :)
Liz, you need to use vodka in the pie crust! That way you can work with the crust more while it's wet, and then the alcohol evaporates. It helps to have naturally freezing cold hands like mine, too ;) But seriously, it's all about the filling, and a tough crust is nothing a little vanilla ice cream won't fix ;)
Time to baste the bird! I hope all my fellow Pixies are snug at home (that means you, too, JeniScotVet..pets don't get sick on Christmas, right??), which is basically the next best thing to having you snug over here so I can feed you instead :) Virtual cocoa with mini marshmallows all around!
Debangel, yes, she has an amazing spirit . . . but she didn't even get diagnosed with an illness until her mid-40s. I've been dealing with chronic pain since I was about 7, and I'm coming to terms all over again with the fact that it's not going to get better, and almost certainly will get worse.
Big-time whiney whine coming on . . .
I just turned 36 and I already sound like Rice Krispies when I get up after sitting for a brief time. My hips pop in and out all the time.
I took care of the critters this morning and went back to bed. DH woke me up for reading and gifts, and I managed to stay awake for that and then fell asleep just as the kids finished opening their gifts, and slept until after dinner time.
I've been up for a little while now, and all I feel like doing is going back to bed. I'm tired, my brain is foggy, and I hurt. What I really want to do is play a game or something with the kids, but I'm having trouble getting up the oomph to do that.
I'm not really sure what DH and the kids ate for dinner, even . . . I think he heated up something. We haven't had a big special meal yesterday or today.
I wasn't feeling up to going to the Christmas Eve service last night, so I stayed home and napped while DH took the kids.
What little decorating got done, the kids did. They decided they really wanted a tree (we've never had one), so they draped a green crocheted blanket over a stool and hung ornaments on it.
((( PK ))) i love the kids making a tree with a blanket!! so creative. they are feeling joyous -- and that is good. there is no one way to celebrate; no particular menu; and really the tree they created is the thing money can't buy. something they share together with love; this thing made of happiness and what's handy.
i agree with debangel,that the spirit of that news story was inspiring. but i also hear the pain you have been suffering, and how discouraged you feel. xoxo
you have not been diagnosed with that thing the woman in the article has. so, don't get ahead of yourself with predicting doom, ok? xoxo
it probably would help to have a better handle on what is happening to you, and what might help -- to have something more concrete to work with. and i suspect this is a road you have traveled, betwixt other adventures of life. but can the pixies help in some way? what do you see as standing between you and making progress on this thing?
xoxoxoxoxo
brunch, presents, snacks, stockings; and then we had a big mid-afternoon meal -- well, a little later than that, what with one thing and another!
but a great day with daughter, son, son's delightful longtime girlfriend, and the kinda-in-laws! and a lot of good food; even though the pie was funny-lookin'.
it was very fun, being allowed to socialize with the GF's parents. :)
Kathy A, I hope you figure out the car. At least a battery is a pretty easy fix.
We've suspected EDS or something similar for a long time. There is a great deal of overlap between the conditions we have all been diagnosed with and this, but overall it's a much better fit for the whole picture.
When my sister went to see the geneticist who is the premiere specialist in connective tissue disorders in MD, she took along info. on not only her own medical history, but that of a number of other family members including myself and my other sister, my children, our cousin and her daughter, another cousin, etc. as well as the older relatives we are descendants of.
Actual genetic testing only exists for a few versions of this type of disease, primarily the most serious. Thankfully, it's pretty clear we don't have the version in which average live expectancy is mid-30s because of spontaneous rupture of major organs.
The Dr. feels it is clear that our family suffers from a hereditary connective tissue disorder. Most likely EDS or something similar. Genetic testing does not yet exist for all of these, so a diagnosis is largely based on symptoms and family history.
So, yes, it's possible it may not be EDS specifically. And even within EDS there is great variation in types, as well as each type's severity and effect from one person to another. Just like not everyone with CFIDS/ME (something I *have* been specifically diagnosed with) is going to be as sick as the main character in the movie "The Wedding Gift" (available on Netflix).
I do need to get an appointment myself with a geneticist . . . the nearest really good one that I know of is in our state capitol, several hours' drive away.
But I am once again trying to come to terms with what I have not wanted to believe. It's never going to get significantly better in the long run. There is no cure. And I'm concerned about my children.
I'll go on, and I'll persevere. But sometimes I also need to grieve.
And I feel really, really rotten right now physically too, and have for most of the winter. So that doesn't help. :)
((( PK )))
we have way way too much food left over. crock-pot soup! to freeze?
omg, i have gotten into a discussion on the local online paper about guns. somebody wrote a "guest column" anonymously, talking about how he has a concealed carry permit and is so trained and responsible, but blah blah NRA-talking-points blah. he wrote anonymously so his house wouldn't be burgled; so ok, but then things drifted in the direction of "if you put a tax on guns, i won't be able to afford as much training. if you ban them, i can still buy from specialty machine shops." way to be responsible!
i am trying so hard to be civil, and prod for actual responsible gun safety suggestions *besides* everybody arming up.
(((PK)))
Hugs for everyone. Lots of parties and open-houses today and tomorrow. I'll check in later in the week.
AW: It's all good. The open houses are packed with people, but I've learned how to hover at the edges and still chat with plenty of people. Parties are much better when I don't get stuck in the middle of the sofa, trapped by a coffee table.
It's The Holidays for the Socially Anxious!! And it can be FUN!
happy boxing day, sue! so, these "open house" things are parties? yes, best to be in a position to move around, chat with many.
Sue, that's what my hubby does too . .. hang around the fringes, observe, and occasionally disappear into a corner with a book or a baby. Babies are excellent for detaching yourself from the general hubub, especially if they're fussy or sleeping. :)
Yes, they are parties. They are called open houses because of the informality of it all. There are no real invites. The host(s) tell friends to drop by even for a few minutes just to say hello and have a refreshment and snacks.
It's also quite acceptable to stop by if you hear about the open house from someone else. Basically, folks throw the doors open and see who shows up - fun!
It's a big holiday activity here - very low stress for hosts and a nice time to catch up with old friends.
sue, that does sound fun!
Aargh. AARGH. HULK SMASH.
I am *so* ticked-off right now. (Gee, like you hadn't guessed that already?) James gave his job over a month's notice that my surgery was scheduled for 1/17. He was supposed to be on travel, 10 days on, 4 days home, and they said they'd work around him being home that day. Well, the contracts are a little up-in-the-air, he has to leave for San Antonio on the 10th, and they said he could fly home on the 16th..on his own dime. $300 is a lot of dimes. Not only that, but it wasn't even like they brought it up to him..he had to contact his boss and double-check, on my insistence, because my spidey senses were tingling.
Have I mentioned that I am pissed? I hate the suspense, I hate that I don't have enough friends or family in town that can run backup (I unfortunately picked a date that my SIL will be traveling), and I hate that I have all my pre-op appointments written in permanent ink in my book. Yes, I'm a Virgo, LOL. It actually really bugs me to cross stuff out once I have it all neat and scheduled. I don't have much OCD, but change my datebook or chip my manicure, and I go nuts ;-)
So now there's no real way to schedule the surgery when James is home. I'll just have to make it for when Lynn is around, and hope James just happens to be there. $300 on our budget is a little much, especially since we were not told we needed to expect it. Harrumph, and bah humbug :-(
well, the posse surely has some cluesticking to do, debangel. what yerks.
Dear God Almighty, that is unacceptable. You guys gave them a month's notice. Is there nothing that his boss can do about this? I mean, since he's the one who fireplaced it up?
it sounds like maybe boss' bosses fireplaced it up. and the contract still being negotiated is a bad place for the beloved to be making a righteous stink -- even if there was a verbal promise. yerks. i'm saddled up.
peculiar whine: so, this morning i woke up with a few numb fingers, and i figured i had been sleeping on them. so i did the normal things -- shaking my hand, rubbing my arm to increase blood flow -- and they were still numb, 45 minutes later. but then it went away. i don't know what to make of that, but yay. weird.
first, junior dog treated the cat kibble as her personal midnight buffet.
then, she knocked plastic containers of cookies off a counter in the family room, and ate them.
meanwhile, the cats were unhappy about their empty food dishes, so they dragged trash all over my office.
honest, they all were fed extra-well last night. the dogs got a bunch of turkey; the cats got a rare treat of canned food.
Stomach virus. I think I may have broken a personal record last night, vomiting about 6 times in 30 or 40 minutes. Thankfully, after that I was able to sleep. Now my throat hurts and I feel ravenous, but am barely able to keep down small sips of liquid.
And my neck muscles feel very much like the aftermath of whiplash.
Thankfully the kiddos are taking care of the critters. Although it would be VERY nice if they could do it with a little less screaming at each other. What IS it with the post- Christmas extreme grumpiness?
Awards tomorrow.
aaack! cranberry sauce on a new light-colored shirt! you know where it landed, too. and my husband wonders why i prefer darks...
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