Randomness

Random musings on a Sunday evening....


*Thanksgiving was, as usual, quite wonderful...we spent the day at my parents' house, where we enjoyed a delicious and satisfying dinner. My aunt & uncle from Virginia were in town, and as I hadn't seen them in three years, it was very special catching up. I had made a delicious cranberry salad, using a recipe I got off of Pinterest, and it was quite tasty. Hubby said later that it was his favorite part of the meal - and either he's telling the truth, or he's brown-nosing because Christmas is coming!


Yummy! And easy...MY kind of recipe!


*That evening, we had friends and family over for our annual Thanksgiving Dessert Party, where everyone is asked to bring their favorite dessert. My counter top looked like a Pumpkin Fiesta, as we were overloaded with every thing imaginable made with pumpkin - bread, muffins, pies, cheesecakes - and my specialty, Pumpkin Lust. Yum.

*We enjoyed watching Ken Burns' "The Dust Bowl" on PBS last week...very enlightening, and very educational...as I told my parents, the Dust Bowl period was somewhat glossed over in history class, as it seemed the Depression got all of the attention during that time period. The perseverance of the people affected by this ecological disaster was amazing.

*We took the kids to "Batman Live" on Friday night...a lights, sound and visual extravaganza. Somewhat corny, but still entertaining....All the classic villains were represented: The Penguin, the Riddler, as well as the Joker...and the Joker was fantastic.


Dick Grayson and the Joker....


I wore black jeans, my black boots, and my favorite black leather jacket...with a batman mask on, I was instantly transformed into Catwoman, and got quite a few smiles and giggles from kids walking around the arena. As well as a few laughs from parents, as well.


Meow.


*Last evening, Hubby and I headed to the movies, and saw "Lincoln". We sat in a sold-out, crowded theater - and was instantly spellbound, along with everyone else, by Daniel Day Lewis's riveting performance. He'll be nominated for an Oscar, for sure, and if he doesn't win, I'll be shocked. Tommy Lee Jones is also amazing, and should be nominated for Best Supporting Actor, IMO.

*I'm about 30% done with my Christmas shopping, and 100% of it has been done in my own home, while wearing my comfy PJ's, while sipping Chai Tea. I love, love, love online shopping - and I wonder how I ever survived Christmas shopping before...??

*The kitten that befriended us last June has now gone off to college with my oldest son...Son has his own apartment, and the kitten needed a home where there WEREN'T two other cats around...He's only been gone 24 hours, and I miss him already. The cat, that is. Not my son. Hee hee.

Peace.

Weekend in Review: Goats, Grinders & The Boss

Thank God it's Monday.

Really.

And thank God I'm home.

I flew home Wednesday evening from New Jersey, and hit the ground running, so I haven't had much time to decompress a bit from working Hurricane Sandy...but that's okay...all I know is, I worked my butt off, and I met some amazing people (again), and reconnected with some other amazing people.

Thursday was spent dealing with piles...piles of laundry, piles of mail, piles of chores and errands - all that stuff that lets me know I'm needed just as much at home as I'm needed with the American Red Cross. I wouldn't have it any other way.

That evening, 13-year old daughter gave a resounding performance at her school's fall music concert...we managed to snag front-row seats, where we enjoyed the school orchestra, band and choir.


Bravo, kids!

Friday, Hubby and I headed into the big city, where we first enjoyed a delicious tapas dinner at Extra Virgin, a hip restaurant that is quite the happenin' place on a Friday night. There, we nibbled on delicious plates of cheese, prosciutto, and goat.

Yes. Goat.



After dinner, we headed over to the Kauffman Center of Performing Arts, where we watched a resounding performance of "Tap Dogs." Six guys...twelve feet...throw in water, basketballs, flashlights, grinders, and percussion - and you get the Blue Man Group, mixed with a bit of Cirque de Soleil, with tap dancing. Surreal...but very entertaining.



Saturday evening was spent with The Boss, as in Bruce Springsteen. First, though, we headed down to Kansas City Power and Light, where we met up with friends of Hubby's for a quick drink and dinner. The P&L was CRAZY insane, but it was fun to meet some of Hubby's friends from his past....great times, for sure.



We then walked over to the Sprint Center, where we joined thousands of other enthusiastic concert-goers for a 3-hour rockfest with Bruce.


Self-portrait while waiting for the show to begin...

Bruce was high-energy and passion...never a dull moment, and we had a rollicking good time, dancing and singing and enjoying a GREAT evening. This picture pretty much sums it all up:



Sunday afternoon was spent celebrating our granddaughter's 12th birthday...


...although there's only eight candles on the cake. Maybe she won't notice....

In between our celebrations and concerts and shows, we managed to put up the Christmas tree, go to church, do a bit of Christmas shopping, and spend time with 23-year old son, who came home from graduate school for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Whew.

So no WONDER I'm grateful for Mondays...where I can perhaps slow down a tad....

...or perhaps not.

Me? Slow down?

Snort.

Peace.

Christmas Tree Catnip

*


Bad juju will follow anyone if they dare mess with the Thanksgiving gods....

Trust me.

I know from experience.

For the first time, like, EVER, I attempted to get a "jump" on the holidays by sneakily putting up my Christmas tree this weekend.

I know...it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but hey - I'm crazy busy, and I may not even BE here next weekend to put up the tree - so I justified it in my head and drug out the tree and the decorations and had Hubby set to work.

Don't judge me.

The first hint of bad juju began after Hubby assembled the tree...I was standing next to it, puzzling over the fact that it looked...short. REALLY short.

"Something's wrong," I began....and Hubby, always a bit defensive with his Christmas-tree assembling skills, immediately tried to cut me off in whatever criticism I was about to lay on him.

"WHAT??!" he said...."There's NOTHING wrong! It's perfect!"

"It just seems...short," I continued. "Normally, I need a stepladder to reach the top - and yet...this year, the tree is rather...stumpy."

That's when Hubby realized he had totally forgotten the bottom section of the tree. Chagrined, he went off in search of the missing piece, and didn't we have fun trying to get all the pieces reconnected afterwards. Not.

After all the pieces were assembled, the second bit of bad juju hit...when Hubby plugged in the various cords, and we were greeted by the grand and glorious sight of...darkness.

Apparently, our pre-lit tree decided to be temperamental, and about half the lights stubbornly refused to turn on. We were faced with a blackout covering the square footage of approximately New York City, and now had the daunting task of trying to figure out how to turn the freakin' lights on.

Awesome.

While we were both engrossed in the task of checking Every. Single. Light. Bulb. on the tree, our 8-month old kitten/cat came sauntering up from the basement to see what trouble he could get into we were doing....


Anyone wanting a cat? This one's looking for a good home...


He took one look at the assembled Christmas tree, and with a yelp of delight that sounded suspiciously like, "COWABUNGA, DUDE!!!", he launched himself into the mass of pine needles and light cords.

He was in a Disney World of Cat Heaven, slithering and jumping from branch to branch, while Hubby and I were screaming and yelling, "GET OUT OF THERE, YOU LITTLE SH*T!!!", all the while trying to grab him whenever a glimpse of grey fur came near.

Strangely enough, at some point, all his wiggling and wriggling and slithering jiggled just enough light cords that miraculously, caused half of the darkened lights to suddenly begin blazing in their full glory...which, although somewhat tempered Hubby and I from chasing him, by no means lessened the danger that this cat was creating in his frenzied joy of exploring the tree. He still needed to get out before he toppled the tree, or electrocuted himself, whichever disaster decided to come first. I was voting for electrocution at this point, as that would save me the trouble of killing him myself.

About the time we finally managed to get the mangy furball out of the tree, the cat decided that my carefully arranged piles of decorations on the floor were the indoor equivalent of piles of leaves, and he then launched himself from pile to pile, delighting in the mess he was leaving behind.

ARGH.

Hubby eventually caught the cat, and carrying him by the scruff of his neck, he was banished to the basement, with a decidedly dejected look of, "What? Me? What did I do now???"

Sigh.

Two hours and two trips to the store later to buy supplemental lights, the tree was finally ready for decorating...which didn't happen until today.

So...an entire weekend wasted dedicated to decorating the tree, just so I could get a "jump" on Christmas.





Take it from me...do NOT put up a Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving gods don't like it.

Bad juju, I'm tellin' you.

Peace.

Image from HERE

Last Night in Jersey

I'm going home!

After nineteen long, grueling, stressful days of working disaster relief as a result of Hurricane Sandy, I FINALLY am able to head home. Tomorrow. I am counting the hours.

The last few days have been especially crazy busy - in between the 10-hour days spent at Headquarters in North Brunswick, New Jersey - I've changed hotels, gotten lost numerous times on the complicated road system that is unique to New Jersey, and managed to work through the mountain of piles of paperwork on my desk enough to feel that I'm leaving my desk in good shape.

Whew.

Our motel move came suddenly - as we got word that we were soon to lose our room in Princeton - so after a hurrid packing one morning, and a long drive about forty miles north to Branchburg - my roommate and I managed to snag the second-to-last room at the new motel, and I am happily ensconsed on the sofa bed as we speak.

With regards to getting lost on the highways, I have to say that I have NEVER dealt with traffic as congested as I've seen it here...and I swear until I die, that I will NEVER complain about Kansas City traffic again. Every single morning and evening, my commute is a bumper-to-bumper slow crawl through a nightmare of rude drivers, traffic accidents, and maneuvering the complicated "left turn - but it's really NOT a left turn" - that makes up Jersey.

Gah.

I made my flight arrangements this afternoon, and after a brief stop in Atlanta, I'll be winging it back to home...to the family...to the pets...to the mountains of paperwork and laundry and housework that is sure to be waiting for me...

...and yet...I don't mind.

I'll be in my own bed, in my own town, and it will feel so, so good.

Home.

Yes, please.

Getting My Glow Back

Today was my day off - the first, and perhaps only day off for this disaster operation - and my plan was to sleep in, live in my pajamas, and curl up with a book.

Sigh.

So much for the best-laid plans.

Having a roommate who does NOT have the day off, somewhat negates the plans of sleeping in...I awoke early and drowsily watched, as Lee rushed around a darkened room trying to get ready.

"You can turn a light on," I said..."I'm already awake."

She was determined to be polite, though, bless her heart, and soon she was out the door, leaving me in a quiet, dark room. This should have been blissful, but then a sense of guilt kicked in...thoughts of, "You shouldn't be lying around - how sloth-like!" as well as, "Maybe you should just go on into work...who needs a day off, anyway?" began invading my head...gah.

Not one to lay around, I decided I had to do something...ANYTHING - to keep busy, when suddenly, a brilliant inspiration hit me -

SPA DAY!!!

Perusing the internet on my iPad, I located a spa not more than 15 minutes from here that seemed to have positive reviews, and I quickly called and made a noon appointment for a facial, followed by a manicure. I figured my face and hands show the most damage from these long, feverish days, and they needed the most attention. It would be a small miracle if the beauticians could wipe out the dark circles invading my eyes, but it was a risk I was willing to take. And my hands....? Gah. Typing non-stop on a keyboard all day at work, as well as digging through a suitcase each day for clothes & personal items, have left my fingers & nails in a state of disaster themselves. Things were getting dire, and today was the perfect day to somewhat attempt re-beautification.

Right before I left, though, another attack of the "guilts" hit..."What you are DOING???", the voice said..."Even THINKING of going to a spa while working a disaster relief operation????"

However, a posting from a friend on Facebook alleviated most of my guilt, when she said, "Look at it this way...Red Cross 'lights' the way for victims of disaster. You are that light. Like any good flashlight, you only work as well as the batteries that power it. So, charge away, little light! Tomorrow you will glow."

Wow. Mary had nailed it. And so - off I went.

Arriving at Amber Spa, a quaint little place in the small town of Pennington, New Jersey, I was quickly ushered in and before I knew it, I was lying on a warmed bed while soft, soothing hands began massaging my tension and stress away. I closed my eyes, listened to the relaxing music, and forced my mind to just "float" and focus on the moment....

My 75-minute facial stretched into 90 minutes, with a bonus head, neck, and shoulder massage - followed by a hand & foot massage.

I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!

Afterwards, I was ushered in and seated for a manicure...and while my nails were getting their much-needed attention, a hairdresser took one look at my wild & crazy hair - which now resembled something that only a Muppet would be caught wearing - and offered me a complimentary shampoo and blow-dry.

Oh. My. God.

Is there a Heaven beyond Heaven??!!

Because....I was so there.

The ladies told me of their Hurricane Sandy stories...one lady is STILL without power, but as she put it, "At least I still have a house. Albeit a COLD house...but I can't imagine losing everything, like some people did."

Thousands of questions about the Red Cross - what we do, how we do it, etc - were thrown at me, and before I left for the afternoon, they were thanking me profusely and wishing me well. I thanked THEM for making me feel human again. Their service was IMPECCABLE. As I told them when I left the shop, "I hope I'm never back in this area again with the Red Cross...for YOUR sake...but if I AM...I will SO come back to the Amber Spa!!"

So...Amber Spa...you were AWESOME. I walked out of there a new woman - positively glowing, and feeling 25 years younger.

The icing on the cake? As I stopped briefly at the hotel registration desk later this afternoon to check for messages, the lady behind the counter said, "Your hair looks AWESOME!"



Why, yes. Yes it does.

Peace.