Happy Halloween!

Yesterday Dan's truck was down, so he asked if he could borrow my Jeep. I said sure, as long as he or Bill could take me to work and bring me home from work. Well, when he took me to work he looked exhausted, so I expressed concern about his ability to pick me up. He said he would keep his cell phone with him to wake him up.

So late last night at work, when a lady I work with offered me a ride home, I started to try to call his cell. No answer. As the night went on, I kept trying to call his cell once an hour or so. No answer. I had to turn the lady's offer down, as I couldn't get a hold of him. My shift ends, no husband, no ride home, still not answering his phone. I finally started calling the children's cell phones about fifteen minutes after midnight - and Dan answered. He had fallen asleep fully clothed on the floor watching television and had heard Bill's cell phone ringing, but not his own.

So he finally shows up to pick me up, forty minutes late, and just as a skunk had come out of the bushes and was heading my way up the hospital driveway. When it saw the Jeep coming up the driveway, it ran like heck back into the bushes.

It was chilly - a bit above freezing - so I was cold, even though I had on a coat and gloves.He was so tired looking I asked if I could drive, and I headed right to the IHOP, which is open overnight on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It is the only IHOP I know in this area, and I was really really happy when it opened up a few months ago just a few miles up the road.

So I had cup after cup of hot chocolate, wrapping my hands around the mugs to get them warm. I also had some pancakes, and bought Dan some breakfast, too, and he looked like he felt a lot better after he had some caffeine and some food.

So it was a few minutes short of 2AM and we are just pulling back onto the road to head home, and my cell phone started ringing off the hook.It was Bill, freaking out because he had woken up (we have taken turns being sick all week, and it was his turn this time) and his parents were not in the house, the lights were on, and the television was still on.So even when your child is two weeks short of turning twenty, you are still not allowed to have a private life.

And that has how my day began.

other highlights:
baking a cake for Halloween
baking some cookies for Halloween
waking up Bill from a sound sleep so we could drive to Saline and bring back his father's truck (and I got to pay the $500 for the repairs to get it back )
handing out candy to any trick or treaters (that part I will love- I adore seeing little kids in their costumes, so cute )
making tacos for dinner tonight
finishing up Zelazny's Lord of Light
watching Nightmare Before Christmas & Van Helsing

All in all, even with the weird start, it was a decent Halloween - and the weather was glorious - warm and sunny!

winter is coming

After a beautiful fall, there can be no question that winter is on the way. We have wind warnings out for tomorrow, and one of the local forecasts predicted a winter mix of rain and snow for Monday.

I love the autumn, and am not ready for winter and snow quite yet.

In addition, Steven picked up some stomach bug at school, and we have all been taking turns being sick. Today was my turn. On top of being sick, the Blue Angels kept flying over our house at a low altitude over and over again in preparation for flying over the football stadium in Ann Arbor. Usually I love stuff like that, but they really made my head hurt.

I was also bummed because our local ABC affiliate chose to show a meaningless MAC football game rather than the first half of the Breeder's Cup races today.

So let's see...spent my two days off in a house cleaning orgy (though Bill was a gift from God during the entire unpleasant process), winter is closing in, I was sick, the fighter jets made my headache worse, and area horse racing fans got royally shafted today. And yes - I am horrifyingly grouchy.

On the other hand, I love my children, unlike so many poor souls I still have a house to clean, and our furnace is in good working order to fend off the cold. And the cats are soft and they purr, and they comfort me. And while Michigan lost, so did Ohio State - and that is always a cause for joy! And esptire a stumbling start to their season, the Wings are now playing quite well.

So there are good things in life still.

i just want to feel better, kick the fever, and come back to my normal steady state.

who knew that the Penguin was a republican?

in honor of the presidential debates

soccer scrimmage

We had thought that the soccer season was over with the loss at districts earlier this week, but today they had a scrimmage between our junior varsity team and the team from Willow Run. This is the first year that Willow Run has had a team, and it is a co-ed team. I think that they must not have enough girls to have a girls' team during the high school girls' soccer season in the spring, so they let the girls play on the boys' team in boys' season. Which is fine, as long as they can play! (Until my sons got into high school they always played on co-ed teams anyway, and still do on club teams, so they are used to playing against girls and women).

It was a chilly but beautiful afternoon, and it was fun to go see the game. the game was a lot more relaxed than a regular season game, and was mainly a chance for the kids to go out and have fun.

A creepy dad did sit next to me on the bleachers, and that kind of made my skin crawl, but I have never seen him before, and hopefully never will again, so hopefully it will be OK. He was just one of those guys that keep edging their thigh closer and closer to yours. Fun if it is your husband, gross from a stranger!

I have been loving my week off from work. I am very relaxed, and have been loving having so much extra time with my children. They are the most precious part of my life.

For the most part the weather has been gorgeous, but we have had a couple of rainy days. And it is cold enough tonight that we had to turn on the house furnace.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Another year gone by. I am glad that I can still find love and beauty in the world. It is worth living as long as I can still find those.

soccer afternoon

What had been a cloudy day turned into a lovely late afternoon - perfect weather to sit outdoors and watch a soccer game.

It was the first round of high school boys' soccer districts, and our team lost to Dexter 1-0.

Sad, but the sunset was gorgeous, the sky glowing with color and filled with formations of wild geese.

Then we came home and got to watch the Red Wings game on television as we ate a good home cooked dinner. the rice 7 bean burritos were great, and the Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1.

Sometimes life is good.

Botanical Gardens

Yesterday Dan and I went to the UM Botanical Gardens in Dixboro for a walk in the woods along Fleming Creek. Beautiful fall colors, and two middle aged people with bad knees gimping along taking in all of the beauty.

After, we went grocery shopping at Whole Foods and Sam's Club.

And went for another walk through the neighborhood, then sat next to a fire in the fire bowl in the backyard for a while after dark.

It was a quiet and romantic day, very enjoyable, though our bad knees now hate both of us.

Today we will go watch Steven and his team mates play in high school boys' soccer districts against Dexter. I am expecting a Dexter win - they have gone to states the last two years, winning states two years ago.

a surprise date

Dan took me out on a surprise date back in August, a week after i had the colonoscopy. He refused to tell me what we were doing, so it was a wonderful shock and surprise when we ended up at a Spa in Ypsilanti for a couple's night featuring a long soak in a hot tub and aromatherapy massages. We then went out to dinner for Mexican food, and everything was grand.

Tonight he took me out on a mystery date again, but it was completely different. I freaked out when I saw the $100/person tickets - but he reassured me that they had been gifts (thank God - there is no way we could afford it otherwise right now). They were for a dinner and a night of gambling to raise money for the sports programs at our school district.

The food was good - especially the dessert bar. And there was gambling, which I am not into. There was an auction, though I had no money to bid on anything. There was a lot of alcohol, and I am not a drinker. As the night went on, it got louder and louder and louder. I slipped outside a lot, and also went to the basement quite a bit to watch the Red Wings on the television.

While I appreciate the thought and the gift, the whole thing gave me a headache, to be honest.

I much preferred the Spa!

http://raindroptherapy.net

Today we are heading out to the UM Botanical gardens up in Dixboro, as well as grocery shopping. I am taking my camera, as it is a perfect autumn day - wonderful for walk in the woods!

gorgeous fall weather!

Yesterday and today have been two gorgeous lovely beautiful days! The air is crisp, and the leaves are just beginning to turn, which adds a golden glow to the air. Hard to find weather as beautiful.

I have begun my week off from work with a bunch of housework. I have been busy with laundry, mopping the floor,and all sorts of stuff like that (though baking the chocolate chip bread was fun!)

Today there will be more housework, but I hope to get in a long walk and some time outside. Then maybe beginning tomorrow I can get some relaxation time in.

chocolate chip bread:
PREP TIME 10 Min COOK TIME 2 Hrs 50 Min READY IN 3 Hrs Original recipe yield 1 - 2 pound loaf INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)1/4 cup water 1 cup milk 1 egg 3 cups bread flour 3 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast 2 tablespoons margarine, softened 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips DIRECTIONSPlace ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select 'Mix Bread' cycle or the setting that allows ingredients such as seeds or fruit to be folded into the dough; press Start. Add the chocolate chips at the signal, or about 5 minutes before the kneading cycle has finished. Remove loaf from pan to cool when bake cycle finishes.

Presidential election

This is one of the more interesting and different takes on the Presidential candidates I have run into:
http://ccfinlay.livejournal.com/135385.html

this place is pretty nice

I think I like it here better than AOL. I have been having fun customizing the place - I can even put some youtube music videos over at the side. I chose Warner Brothers Music and Virgin France Music channels, and I suppose the material from those two labels will appear randomly.

I just need to figure out how to add the feed from librarything. com and then I will be a very happy camper!

does this work?

I just moved my blog over from AOL. Just seeing if things are working correctly.

If things are working correctly, I will have to take advantage of this week off to get caught up.