Hello? Hello?

Tapping screen - hello?  Bueller?  Yes, Yes I know it has been a while since last we spoke, and on such a matter - but I had to vent.   (insert rim shot here)  ANY way let me tell you WHY I haven't posted in as many days.  Remember that comment about my lists having lists well my slutty little lists did everyone they saw and reproduced like - well like all the under 16 year olds in my life for the past 10 years... (they've been busy!)

So as I crossed off, consolidated, rewrote, and got stuff done I am down to a small, modestly dressed, well behaved list.   That will discover her inner wild child in about 4 days -and birth another list or two of crap I have to get done.  

With that analogy beat to death let's move on shall we?  Let's go way back to Friday - up early, car pool, meeting at 10 I was supposed to be out the door and done at 11 - but as we all know my luck doesn't work that way and it was 12 noon when we left.   Got home, at 12:45, changed, had lunch, gathered bags, lists, coupons and away I went, to the Dollar Store, to Big Lots, to Trader Joe's, to Aldi's --- where butter is $2 less than at the big grocery store! and almost everything else I needed was at least $1.50 cheaper per item.   Now as I was almost finished with my shopping I remembered that they don't take credit...  crap - ran to the bank, pulls some cash and finished what I needed to do.  Hit the big grocery store spent $9.30 in stuff they didn't have pulled home.   I baked lemon bars, peanut butter bars and my citrus biscotti cookies. 
I had things lined up and ready to go for baking on Saturday, I had inventoried all my baking supplies and spices so I didn't buy what I didn't need, and well I over bought flour and eggs - but I'll make deviled eggs for New Year's Eve and it will all be good right?   AND it ended up I had something to take over to the neighbors for game board night (the lemon bars) and had 3 kinds of cookies, very nicely displayed on my pretty Christmas tray for the Ladies' group on Monday.  

Saturday I gave a list to Bubba - away he went and left me in happiness to make gingerbread houses, all 8 of them. 3 for the nieces and 5 more 1 company boss, 1 office mate, 1 admin assistant, 1 government boss, and 1 car pool buddy.  They were a big hit and I was pleased, even though I see see all the 'opps' that they contain.  Enough icing and candy can cover most sins.  I worried because two wives of the above list are creative type who make jewelry and so when they say my handmade mess - -- and screw it I don't work for or with the wives - toss it in the heap if you want to... I shared the nog.

So Saturday got the house pieces baked, cleaned up went out to dinner, and next door for board games - then Sunday up and slowly moving and back at the backing, needed a few back up pieces, made cookies, and put together and decorated 5 ginger bread houses, including in a fit of I don't know what--- broke out this candy confetti stuff and PLACED individual pieces of red and green buttons on my piped icing stars - with a pair of tweezers because my red-tipped finger nails kept getting in the way... tweezers... What The Heck was I thinking?  Oh sure when it was all done it looked really cool - but yeesh already what a dork I am.   I finished, in time for my darling husband to look at me and say "When's dinner?"  so cleaned up mess 1 made mess 2, cleaned that up and about 9 PM finally died on the couch.   Monday I went back to work for the rest.

Worked all day, home early swung by doctor's office for paper work, Ladies' Group meeting, set out my cookies, loved my puppies, made dinner, ate dinner, made return address labels for the Christmas cards, made business cards with names for each recipient of my gingerbread houses, packaged those up, got things organized for Tuesday morning, got dressed and attended said Ladies' Group meeting, was darn near the last one out the lodge as I check things like the temperature (turned down when not there), lights out and hauling my load-oh-crap home.   Got home, unloaded, changed, chatted to the hubby went to bed and tossed - for a whole 2-3 seconds.

Tuesday, slept in.. nice.  Blood work with appointment, nice in-out-done, getting to that appointment - not so much, cookie tray, 5 gingerbread houses, anti-slip pads for said houses, 2 large bags of ice and 3 jars of egg nog - the partridge in his pair tree was tied to the roof - he needed the air.  Don't Judge me. 
Now you MAY ask why Tuesday for all this "stuff"?  Well boys and girls Tuesday was the day for the office pot luck, all hands let's call this a lunch meeting so we can bill the time holiday thing. I said I would bring ice, since it had been in my freezer since the hurricane washed away my beach weekend...yes August.  So I had it - I didn't have to cook it - and it came in a handy carrying bag.  Plus now I have some room in my freezer - some - not much.  Thankfully when I got into work, pulled the first load up I got a cart and several pairs of willing hands I managed to get the rest of this stuff from my family truckster into the office without trauma, breakage or major ice melt-age.   Not bad.  I was a big hit with the gingerbread houses, and it makes all the work pay off... lots and lots of nice compliments - it's all good... Tuesday's lunch coma hit about 2:30.  Due to arrival time I worked late - OH - MY - GOODNESS have I gotten spoiled with the carpool - took forever to get home,  Bubba called in a pizza order that I picked up.  Of course while pulling into Pizza place he calls to yell at me about not returning a phone call in a timely manner but per his usual mantra grumped about my having enough time for "lodge crap" -- now when I pressed him about said Lodge Crap - and my meeting was Monday and what did that have to do with anything I just forgot to get back to her - see previous list of list statements... Oh yeah not to mention ordering flowers for HIS co-workers in GA and getting gift cards for his friend's kids in CA!   But it's all the lodge crap I do that makes me forget a phone call....

ANY way - grumbled over that - picked up pizza, got home, ate, then wrote out Christmas cards, made Bubba help me he applies stamps and licks the envelops closed.   Hey two less things I have to do - plus I quit signing our cards like Bubba - everyone gets my penmanship - even his mother.  I know those of you who got cards from us previously may now be shattered that I have signed them all but - every woman reading this already knew that -- if there is a man out there reading this - he probably doesn't get half of what I whine about anyway...

SO -- moving on. Where was I?  Oh yes Tuesday night - cards done, put into my bag to be dropped off by --who else?  ME and away we go.  To bed I go as I am finally getting to carpool again but that also means up by 4:30 to get myself presentable and awake enough to form a full sentence like "good morning".   But Wednesday morning - our hero Aunt Ing rolls over looks at her clock and sees.... 5:22!!!  UGH!!! The chubby chick can MOVE when she has to - in shower, washed hair and out in record time - a foot nudge to the hound dog still sleeping and me, the dogs and everything else rushed downstairs, dressed, fed dogs, hair make up and a skirt even and out the door I ran - thinking I would have to defrost and scrap the windshield - only didn't have to so... enjoyed that extra budgeted 3 minutes sitting in the parking lot wondering if I had indeed put on undergarments and quickly doubled checked that the bra was indeed, in place and fastened.  Amazingly we were all good.

Wednesday work day mostly quiet, meetings, lunch out in which my government manager paid!  Then to meeting at another building where I had to park in the next county over then trot in as I was running late - of course took time to pee - because I am the gal of the tiny bladder.  I made the meeting within 4 minutes so not too bad - but my co-worker post meeting mentioned my huffing when I got in -- dude I'm a chubby chick in a hurry - there is going to be some blowing. 

Wednesday ride home better than Tuesday's.  And then I enjoyed my monthly massage, Bubba didn't want to wait for me to get home, so it was left overs night at the Casa-d-Bubba and that made Aunt Ing very happy.  she was also very mellow upon her arrival home, rubbed by a professional in all the right places.

Tonight I'm meeting with my mentor for dinner and Bubba has a friend coming over to enjoy a hockey game on the TV.  They are picking up dinner - so the pups will have a new friend to make tonight.   And my commute home will be groovy as it will be post 8:00 PM.

My office mate also took me to a VERY nice lunch out today - I had duck, in a very nice salad with nuts and blue cheese and we shared a couple of desserts that were seriously yummy.   I really really have to do something nice for him - yeah he got a gingerbread house, and egg nog, and I did get his grand daughter a Halloween goodie thing... I'll bring him more nog.

Friday promises to be not so quiet, meeting in the morning, minutes, stuff to clean up, possible government shut down to deal with and all those issues - which means my vacation could start Monday instead of Wednesday... we'll see - and then a doctor's appointment to see what the creeping crud is on my right hand and elbow that makes me look like I've got some kind of - well creeping crud.

All right - off to find the bottom of my desk, re-do my to do list and find directions to the restaurant I picked for dinner tonight with my mentor.  I'll sleep when I'm dead.

On a final total chick note - those pajama things they are advertising as some great gift - with a hood and footies - Men (or man reading this blog)  Just say no.   What woman wants a onesie for a gift - and a leopard print with a tail?? No no NO.  I don't care if it comes in a pretty box, and smelly stuff - that doesn't make up for that bit of Pj's foolishness... if you're that desperate for a gift - chocolate and flowers or something shiny--- BLING boys is always a a big hit.
Off of sand box.