Confessions of a One-Track Mind

Things have been a little up in the air for tomorrow's Girls' Day Out. Originally, we were going to meet in Viera, lunch at Panera and see "One for the Money" at the Rave. BigRed and I were emailing back and forth, and she mentioned a Mexican place called Moe's, which sounded interesting...a little negotiating with CF (third member of our wanna-be ladies who lunch bunch) and Panera was out, Moe's was in.

Then BigRed got online to reserve her ticket, and found out the only showing of OftM was at 4:30, which didn't work for her for assorted reasons. She suggested we see "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island". I have nothing against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but I was underwhelmed at the thought of driving 20 minutes and paying $7-8 to see him. Because, if you look back over the last few weeks, you'll see I've mentioned wanting to see OftM eleventy jillion times. I was literally on my way to see it last weekend when I got the email invite from BigRed, and my patience has been stretched thin between glasses and fences and whatnot.

I offered a counter-proposal, namely that we lunch at Olive Garden on the Island and catch the 12:45 show at the mall. That met with favor from the other gals, so that's the plan.

There are a few reasons I actually prefer this version:
1) It's considerably closer, which saves on gas.
a. We're meeting at 11AM, and I'm not a morning person. I may be conscious, but aside from church, am seldom out and about at that hour. This will make it a little less painful.
b. Being on the Island will make certain errands more convenient afterward.
2) Soup, salad and breadsticks is affordable, and I can consume pasta e fagioli all day long.
3) Okay, I know they don't run on looks, as my daddy used to say, but my PoS car is always the crappiest-looking vehicle in sight at The Avenue. It isn't quite as out of place at the mall.

Maybe I'll dig out my copy of OftM for a fast reread. Although I know the series pretty well, it's been a while since I've gone back to the beginning. It's up to book 18 these days, and I've been there from the beginning. I started with OftM, and I remember how pleased I was when "Two for the Dough" came out and I realized that Evanovich was going to continue Plum as a series. I've had my own ideas of what the characters are like, and I'm interested to see how close they get it.

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Laundry. Holy, crap, have I been doing a lot of laundry. Digging and washing and sorting and hanging and finding hangers! And more hangers! And more frickin' hangers and more frickin' laundry---yesterday, I was pulling stuff from down under the hanging bar that spans my garage. Found stuff that had fallen off hangers, stuff that had fallen off the ironing board, stuff and more stuff, and just when I thought I was getting to the end of it, I parted the clothes on the bar, like parting the Red Sea (or in this case, the Pink Sea), and discovered to my utter horror a pile of bedding, spreads and comforters and blankets---at last three, more like four loads all by itself. *whimper*

Mind you, I found a nice skirt I'd completely forgotten I owned, TEN pains of panties, which is a Very Good Thing indeed, and some stuff that made me go, "Why do I still have THAT?!" So I'm benefitting from my industry and making progress, it's just not happening as fast as I'd like it to, but then, what ever does?

Still, the Universe was very good to me yesterday. I got dressed and dragged myself out to pay the light bill (FPL--Florida Plunder and Loot). I checked the mailbox and found a darling card with a picture of a black Labrador Retriever* on it from pwcorgigirl and an equally charming GC for Aldi's.

I hit WalMart first for another phone card, then Aldi's, where I invested in some things that food stamps doesn't cover. Went above and beyond the GC, planning to pay the difference with food stamps. Except the register wouldn't ring it up that way, there was no manager in store and lines backing up. They wrote off the overage just to get me out of there. $14 worth of goodies! They've got their Christmas delicasies out, so they're especially yummy.

Then I took care of the FPL bill and went home with a sense of accomplishment. Spent a quiet evening, then this morning I put a load of laundry into the dryer, stopped by Publix to get a raincheck on some diet Cheerwine at the current sale price and on to J's for a meeting about dog training. Fingers crossed, it looks like there *might* be some money in it!

/----/----/----/----/

* Or as a photographer of my acquaintance calls them, "black light-sucking dogs", because either they're a black hole in the picture or they're washed-out looking; apparently it's very tricky to get the exposure Just Right.

J called me this afternoon and came by and took me to lunch. We sat around and talked for a couple hours after we'd finished eating. Dogs, mostly. She might have one lined up for us, and there are a couple doggy events coming up over the next few months.

I had a "French dip" sandwich, which is one of the things they make that I really like. J opted for pulled pork, took one bite and sent it back as "too spicy". The server gave me a box for it, so I've got it for dinner later. Having had a rather late breakfast, I wasn't starving, not that I am anyway, and I kept my sides so I've got them to go with the pork. Nomnomnom!

Got home afterward and found two 'zines awaiting me in my mailbox. MyCokeRewards is the bomb for "free" subscriptions. I've got "Country Living" and "Better Homes and Gardens", which help me feel less deprived. As long as I have "fresh" reading material in the loo, I'm happy. Well, that and paper on the roll!

Came home and checked my email and found out that my peeps love me and are concerned and willing to extend a helping hand. Thank you, my dears!

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Spent six hours running around with Mb today. She lunched me at Cracker Barrel---the special of the day was chicken and rice with two sides (Mine were green beans and baby carrots). Then a visit to Captain Ahab at the nursing home, a stop by his house to pick up mail, etc., ice cream, and on the way home, a stop at the US1 Publix, where we ran into a former co-worker from the billing office.

I haven't seen her in at least four years; she's no longer trying to rock the Maureen O'Hara wannabe red hair, and her roots are about four months grown out---I'm so glad mine is to the point where I don't have roots any more. Also, I'm glad I was carefully dressed---when I left the house, it just seemed like an auspicious start to the new year---but situations like this come up, and I'm glad it was a pretty skirt and top rather than something schlubby.

It was a very full day, and I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight, that's for sure.

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I just got back from a very nice lunch with Red at Olive Garden. Had our usual: Soup, salad and breadsticks, zuppa tuscana for her and pasta e fagioli for me, with tons of freshly grated cheese. Much schmoozing was done; I've known her longer than anyone else in my life at this pooint...I had to think about it, but yeah. She came on the scene a couple years before GK, BC et al.

When we'd both reached the chipmunk stage, she departed to go snag dog food, while I headed across the road to Fashion Bug. I get their emails, so I knew they had a sale going on jeans. No luck; even at half off, I wasn't willing to commit to denim I was less than thrilled with. However, I *did* find a pair of gray pants to succeed the ones I have now, which are about 3 years old and have been well-worn. The new ones were $8.50 with tax, which in my book is an awesome deal.

I hope everyone else is having a good afternoon!

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Had a very nice time at B & A's...dinner was a ham, accompanied by mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole and herbed rolls. Simple, but oh-so-yummy!

No ponies occured during the gift exchange, but I'm still very pleased. B & Mb put their heads together, and I ended up with variations on a theme. Instead of a gift bag, I got a Ghirardelli tote bag in brown and gold, containing the leopard-print slipper-booties I saw Mb get the other night, a mock-mink and leopard throw (mostly chocolate brown, and decadently soft), a chocolate truffle-scented Yankee candle (Never mind burning it, just hand me a spoon!) and four bars of Ghirardelli: orange, raspberry (both dark), and Limited Edition Pecan Pie.

Only down-side to the evening: I was the only non-smoker in the house, and I came home reeking. Came in and couldn't stand the smell of myself; showered and washed my hair, and returned to my desk, where I've spent the last two hours refreshing yuletide to no avail.

Nuts. I'm going to bed. Hopefully it'll be up by morning.

Merry Christmas, everyone!



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My glorious trip to Tampa concluded with me being dropped off at my doorstep around 2PM. (Um, Brat? What ever happened to that second 12-pack of diet Pepsi? It never made it home with me.) Quite a letdown after the luxurious La Quinta!

I'd already assembled my ensemble for the party before I left, so I had time to shower and check my email before I left. Although, since there were 32 emails PLUS spam, I didn't answer any of them til this afternoon. I had a gratifying number of reviews from the Pit of Voles, and mojavedragonfly gave me a heads-up about a rec I'd gotten elsewhere.

Sadly, I don't think anyone captured a picture of my fetching frock et al, but I'll no doubt reprise it and display it when I can. Let me just say, there was A LOT of pink. The only thing missing was a pink or lilac pillbox hat. That would've made it perfect!

I drove by the church at 3:37---there was no one there. I detoured to WalMart and got some lip gloss---pink---and by the time I went back, there were signs of life.

When I first conceived this party, I had an image of a bright, sunlit day, the church festooned with flowers and the rooms bursting with friends and reveling until all hours.

Uh-huh. After having divine weather for my trip, the Universe obviously decided it had deferred to me for long enough. It was sullen and wet. Instead of the 2 dozen-plus people on the guest list, I had *counts on fingers* nine. Okay, 9.95, if you consider that HHappy is 8.5 months pregnant. And one dog, literally. And aside from the future HappyBoy, it was all girls.

In addition to AI and CapeGypsy (who made so much ziti that it fed hospitality today and I brought most of a large aluminum roasting pan home with me) and HHappy and Mailbox Gooddog's mama---all the UU's in attendence---Kat, IslandLefty, Bee, Missybrat and Red were all there. I'm going to be living on Bee's banana pudding and Missybrat's banana nut bread for a week---I will definitely be getting enough potassium!

It turned out to be a really good tableful. Okay, two tables long, but very festive. I was delighted by how well Red hit it off with my UU friends, and everyone else seemed to have a good time...considering how often I've introduced friends and had them scrap at each other, I was *really* glad to see everyone get along. There was a lot of laughter, and that was the best part.

Maybe I shouldn't have invited Kat; she's known IslandLefty for a long time, and I had to introduce them: "This is S's daughter. She used to date your son, Dr Bizarre, back when they worked together at BS World." She was also vague about knowing Red, although that was less surprising; she wasn't as close, and it's been a few years. It was really awkward. However, she had two helpings of ziti, which is good, considering how she mostly picks at food if left to her own.

I got loads of cool gifties! Some sterling and amethyst earrings, peace sign earrings, a black and white scarf, a scented candle, Body Shop bath stuff, a book, an insulated lunch bag (with a jar of squeezable Marmite! Yay!), some Dove dark chocolate and a WalMart gift card.

Also a variety of cool cards---one with a precious Boston Terrier on it (my Aunt ruth and Uncle Tom had a Boston named Butch when I was a kid), a card with sound effects, and from Missybrat, who's heard me rant about GK's offspring, a Dr Seuss card featuring Thing One and Thing Two---I couldn't share the joke!---they're Kat's grandkids and she might inadvertantly repeat it.

It was all quite fabulous. Not what I had in mind when I set out, but very satisfying nonetheless.

It was about 7:30 when I got home, and I was Happy. Exhausted. DONE.

I took two ibuprofen and a muscle relaxer, turned my bedside lamp off at 8PM and slept for 12 solid hours. I woke once to pee. A couple times my eyes opened, I told myself it was still dark, go back to sleep. And I did. It's been a fantastic weekend, and I'm really glad tomorrow is a holiday so I don't HAVE to do anything.

I have wonderful friends, and I count youse guys among them.

I am gleeful, squeeful and doing Snoopy dances. One of my co-workers, a very sweet lady heretofore known as The Angel In the Next Row has commiserated with me about my situation, lack of a/c, back pain, etc., and today she told me she has a window a/c unit for me. She had gotten it as a back-up for a spare room at her house and never got around to installing it. She said she remembered it while thinking about my problems and she's going to GIVE it to me. I've been smiling ear-to-ear all day---what an angel!

I've taken a small step toward paying it forward---when White Trash Queen was here for training, there's a game they play at the end, where several people have to get up and make outfits from the stuff they brought, and everyone votes on them---the winners get $25 or pick of an item. One of the new girls who won a code called it because it wasn't working---I looked up the details and found out why: the order had to be over $25. We found an item to bring it up to $25.41, but---she didn't have a debit or credit card to put it on. She was starting to make "I'll call back" noises, and I couldn't have that---so I whipped out MY debit card and put the 41 cents on that. She was embarrassingly grateful, but that's less than the cost of a soda in the break room. I may be chronically broke, but I can spare that!

I'm making plans. Tomorrow, Angel's SO is going to bring the a/c and get it into my trunk during my lunch break (meaning I have to clean it out before I leave for work). Sunday, I'm going to see if I can bribe missybrat with lunch at Cracker Barrel to come back to my place for an hour and help me plow enough of a path to make the window accessible. I'm also going to call BC on Sunday (once I actually have possession of the a/c) and see if, for suitable compensation, I can get him to install it for me after the Great Bed Shuffle.

Merciful goddess, a supportive bed and a/c?! Bliss! Heaven! Nirvana! And unless the Universe is a spoilsport, within 72 hours, such pleasures will be mine!

I'm enjoying my vacation. ( Cut because I summarize the last three days at length )

That's all (for now!), folks!

Today, as you may recall, was the long-awaiting Day of Reckoning for Clutter. Well, it was supposed to be.

CapeGypsy reneged. Per her email, her back went out.

Red came and stayed for about two hours, citing a sick dog. I passed along a chiffon scarf, an eyeglass case and a crystal she admired*.

Kat came and helped sort the beads on the coffee table for an hour and a half. She went home with the remaining seven cans of an 8-pack of Dr Pepper, as I don't care for the stuff and got it for her consumption.

We three got a surprising amount done in that length of time: There are several big bags of trash at the curb, my sofa is cleared off, the runner on the coffee table is visible and there's a goodly width of bare terrazzo extending from the door to the dining room. (That, coupled with the results already achieved in the dining room, is a real improvement.)

Oh, for one more hour of assistance!

Still, I have a couple of boxes of stuff I can haul over to Goodwill, and if I keep at it, maybe a couple boxes a week, it might actually be navigable by the time GK gets here.

It also motivated me to toss some scary leftovers, the kitchen trash and pitch the litter bags from both bathrooms. I swept after they left...the area rug will need to be vacuumed once the coffee table is cleared enough to move three feet west. There's actually room to do that now!

This evening is CUUPs. We're going to be making fetishes for protection (and yes, there has been some smirking going on every time the topic has been announced during services). I need to rummage out a few things: Fimo, stamps, tools---I'm really looking forward to it, as it's been ages since we last did "crafty crafts".

AND I have tomorrow and Wednesday off legitimately! *swoon*

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* Was amused to be lectured on the proper cleansing of crystals. Clearly, she has no idea how deeply I'm into New Age rocks.

Today has been quite pleasant so far. Had lunch with Kat, picked up a few things at W*M, bagged the cans in my office (which I plan to turn in for enough loot to see Pirates 3 tomorrow), and changed out the curtains on the window in the garage while starting a load of laundry (in progress).

I also had an e-mail from PC, AI's husband---there's been a death in the family and they're in need of a dog-sitter. No problem! The dogs are well-behaved, their house is gorgeous, and while the thought of an additional 15 minutes tacked onto The Commute From Hell doesn't thrill me, I owe them. They've been there for me numerous times, so if there's something I can do for them, well, time is something I can spare.

The time frame is still undecided; he's awaiting news of the funeral arrangements before they make reservations. (I've no idea whereabouts they're headed, just that he mentioned "flying out".) I might end up there as early as tomorrow evening. We shall see. The fact that they're five minutes from Barnes and Noble and the mall and this week is payday...oh, I could get into such trouble!