^ CBB I can very much relate to having a S far away who isn’t always good about responding to texts/emails etc!
Also taking down the decorations today as well as watching the Rose Bowl Parade which I never miss. This year I’ll be looking for a friend of mine who is in the crowd with her family (she says they are right by the big curve in the route). Someday I would love to be there in person. I also have a dream of getting to volunteer to work on a float. Might be a result of working on homecoming floats back in HS (we had large parades back in the day) and also (sorority) house decorations in college. So I have experience 
ShawSon is back from visiting with GF’s family for the first time. Had a good time, but he wanted to make sure he did everything right as it was a real cross-cultural encounter. The father doesn’t really speak much English. Lots of conversation in Chinese in front of him. ShawSon knew that gift exchange was important but apparently brought a little too much, so the parents went out and got a bottle of wine for us. He enjoyed spending time with GF and her sister. ShawSon bought lobster tails and cooked it for them for dinner. They cooked a very nice Chinese dinner with tripe as one of the proteins. He was a good sport. He wasn’t sure when they asked him about what he did whether they understood (until a Chinese friend of theirs who got his PhD at the same university and translated ShawSon’s field into Chinese) and he didn’t want to seem like he was bragging so he went pretty low key.
At the end of the visit, the mother told him that she really liked him. They also apparently invited us to come stay with them in Atlanta or Alabama.
Back at work today for me. Things have improved with regards to the vertigo. Still have occasional issues if I try to turn too quickly but did manage to go to the gym this morning and didn’t fall off the eliptical. One thing that I notice is that wide open spaces seem the most challenging still for me - like the gym. Enclosed areas I’m okay with. Not sure why unless it’s just its more difficult to focus in a wide open space.
Did get all the Xmas decorations put away prior to coming back to work so that was good. All in all not a bad time off but could have been better. H was also sick once I started to improve with a cold and then sinus infection. So wasn’t a great Xmas as that was at the height of things for him.
Back fom the lake. NYE was fun but I got Very sick after that. I have had a 48 hr stomach bug. Yuck. Still not 100%.
oregon…cooking for our friend was interesting.Apparently he has not been very complient since his stent surgery. His wife has said it is his issue and has washed her hands of it since she says the more she pushes the less he complies. One of the stents was put in the “widow maker” artery which was 90% closed. He was very lucky!
D2 starts her new job today. I haven’t seen her since Christmas as she and her H went to Florida to golf. I am envious of the weather that she had!
Happy New Year, everyone! I had two 4-day weekends, and by last Saturday - kids gone, no more cooking, wrapping, etc.- I actually felt rested. I really feel like a different person when I’m not exhausted. I don’t mind the longer working hours and longer commute of the new job. But I’m not 27 anymore (nor even 37 or 47) and I just don’t have the energy to do much besides work.
Having all the kids together went fine. No big blowups until the day younger D left and she and H got into an argument about where she wanted to live next year. It took a while for H to reveal that the real reason he was upset about D’s idea to move to a different apt. complex next school year was that he thought she wanted to move in with her BF. It turned out that there really had been a break-in attempt that D hadn’t told us about at the time. Better communication by both H and D would have prevented the blow up.
And by the last day older D was here, she told me that she really didn’t like 3 of the 4 things I always serve for Christmas brunch, then others chimed in and I guess I’m the only one who loves everything I make for Christmas brunch.
Remember how the Uber driver backed into a car across the street the night that we returned from H’s mom’s memorial service? I have lived in my house for 30 years and that was a first. Well, on Christmas Eve their neighbor backed into younger D’s car, parked on the street. Mind you, we haven’t had cars on the street lately but when all kids were at home, it was constant. The neighbor lady told us she was doing the “Christian thing” by admitting that she did it. Good for her, but it’s more like the moral human thing to do. She also scolded D for parking there (on the street in front of our house) and made some other not quite Christian comments. Fortunately the car is drivable.
The only movie was saw was Moonlight. If you go, I recommend that you read about it first. I didn’t and didn’t quite “get it.” H and D saw La La Land and were underwhelmed.
Sorry to hear that you were sick, NM, and that the vertigo is still there RM.
Did I tell you about the weird NYE party we went to. ShawWife had mistakenly assumed the kids would want to have NYE with us and turned down several invitations but accepted one where the hosts are very good cooks. They are about 10 years older than us, I’d guess. He’s an interesting guy who is retired and is very active and effective on all sorts of social justice projects – building houses in NO and Biloxi after Katrina, supporting an African village, collecting food from farms locally for people who need food in our community, … . Anyway, they invited two other couples and a widow, all retired, and most at least our hosts age. We have a tradition of filling out a 2 page questionnaire on NYE. One page asks us to reflect on the year just ending in terms of our 3 accomplishments that year, our favorite trips, movies, foods, our close friends, … . The next page asks what we are going to try to do in the upcoming year. Skills we will try to learn, where we envision ourselves in five years, what we are going to do to make ourselves happier in the new year, etc.
They said, great idea, but when they came to filling it out, it was a little sad. Our host said “I hope I will still be able to live in my house in five years.” They have a beautiful house on a hilly lot with terrific landscaping that she does. One woman had just retired. They are trying to sell their house and move to CA to be near one of their kids and she is trying to figure out what she should do with her life. The widow is retired and happily very active in all sorts of things. Our hosts said proudly that they didn’t have any traditions (say for New Year’s Eve or Thanksgiving or Passover) were unhappy that their kids (who are scattered around the globe) didn’t think of inviting them for Thanksgiving or Passover. The general feeling was somewhat flat. No one said Happy New Year. There was no champagne or prosecco. So a bit of a downer, although I think the husband who does all of the service work was quite happy.
I’ve got to say that in most dimensions, I am extremely happy with my life. I couldn’t have better work and don’t intend to retire because it is so interesting. Each kid is doing very well, though we will have to deal with maxillo-mandibular adjustment surgery for ShawSon this quarter, which will slow him down for a while. ShawWife is doing brilliant work and is considered a relatively well-known regional artist, though she correctly feels she doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. She is going to teach a painting class in Umbria in May and do a residency in the Canadian Rockies this summer. LIfe is pretty good. So, it is was really strange to be in a group that didn’t seem too happy with life. I didn’t want to say, “Hey our lives are good.”
You’ll appreciate the story of my mother’s NYE. A guy at her church was widowed in May; Mom told him to let her know if he ever wanted to talk. He’s been coming around ever so often…they’ll go for drives, eat at Wendy’s etc. He invited her to his “NYE party”. He picked her up and took her to his house. Only there wasn’t a party! It’s the kind of situation we are afraid our D’s will get into, only it happened with the 80+ year old folks! There was no food. Mom was at his house for about 5 hours and he finally offered her some tomato juice. He took her home after midnight, then walked her to the door and leaned in for a kiss. Mom turned her head and went inside. She told me it made her ill to think of his lips on her.
I know this was all distressing for my mother but isn’t it funny?
My mom has always been quite outspoken but she didn’t call him on the “party” thing. Amazing.
That is funny in a bizarre way, MP.
Sad that those people don’t seem happy, shaw. I feel as if I have a lot to be happy about and look forward to and plan to still feel that way 10 years from now.
RM- glad you are feeling better and hope you are better soon, NM.
Some of the NYE experiences you’ve shared make me not feel so pathetic for going to bed early! At least I was content and happy to do so!
For Xmas, H got me a trial subscription to Blue Apron. He doesn’t cook. I’ve made 3 meals now. The food is good, but it’s been a whole lot more work than I’m used to. Last night it only took me 1 hour to make dinner; the two prior meals took me 1.5 hours. Since H doesn’t cook, he’s been doing all the clean-up. Next week I’ll be traveling for work, so I think H plans to have S (home from law school) cook the meals for him.
Continuing to improve. Getting back to the gym helped I think in that I’m back in my regular routine. Still some off balance issues. I still think that there is an issue with my ears as they are very itchy but they said that there isn’t an infection. I’ll wait a couple more weeks and if it persists I’m going back.
NM - hope you are feeling better.
H was also sick with sinus infection and I really bad cold. Seemed better but he was up last night with coughing fits again. Which means that I was also awake even though he went in the spare bedroom. House is usually so quiet that I can hear everything.
Now I’m into birthday season. Between now and Valentines day there are 4 in my immediate family including GS who will be 2, S, D and myself. Nothing like getting everything in the same couple of months after the holidays. I get to make his birthday cake. Making a train. If it comes out well I’ll post a couple of photos for those of us on the closed CC Facebook page – look for them either Sat or Sun. if you are interested. I’m going to have fun with it.
c_q - We have been using Blue Apron for a few months now. H likes to cook but got tired of having to think of what to fix. He also gets home from work earlier than I do. We are happy with BA so far but he admits that there is quite a bit of prep involved. I am the clean up crew
In my very limited experience, I do like Blue Apron precisely because you don’t have to plan ahead what to cook/buyi the ingredients. And the 3 meals I’ve made have been tasty, and I’ve prepared/consumed foods I have never cooked or consumed before. Grocery shopping in NYC is not convenient and it’s expensive, so it’s probably worth it. I had just fallen into the routine of making dinners that don’t take so much prep.
I think I have mentioned this in years past, but H insists on the liturgical calendar and won’t hear of taking down the Christmas tree before January 6. The most convenient time for me would have been on January 1. No one else helped put it up, and I doubt anyone else will assist taking it down!
RM, ShawWife and a friend used to make theme birthday cakes for our kids. ShawSon got castles with moats among other things – fairly elaborate. He loved the concept and really would try to think things through. Lots of toothpicks and stuff were needed to keep things together. We may also have had Lord of the Rings theme cakes IIRC.
ShawD only got one. When she was 3 or 4, I think, ShawWife made a cake which was roughly a life-size replica of ShawD replete with black hair, round white face and electric blue eyes and her favorite dress. It did look like her (ShawWife is an artist after all). ShawD took one look at it, burst into tears, and ran upstairs. Last theme cake she ever got. She didn’t like parties so for a few years after, no parties. Just something with one or two friends. In place of her Bat Mitzvah party, we got tickets to Wicked for the ShawD, one friend and the two of us. We went to NY for a weekend, took the girls shopping at Century 21 downtown and H&M on Fifth Avenue, saw Wicked, had some ethnic dinners. ShawD was very happy, much happier than a party.
Shaw, I was amazed that living in Texas, my Ds were not invited to any quinceañeras when they were of an age. It turns out that the popular thing to do was to skip the quinceañera, and go to NY instead.
I am pretty happy with my life. I don’t like the specter of cancer but I guess I am rather resilient. not a Polly Anna.
D2 was in the ER on NyD. She had been having back and rib pain. Thought it was a pulled muscle. Went to urgent care two days later. They heard a new heart murmur and saw an irregularity on her EKG. So went to ER . She checked out ok, for anything life threatening but no answers. She went to her PCP today. thinks it pleurisy. She will have an echo soon. Needless to say this was pretty stressful for this cardiac nurse. of course I imagined the worst.
I am working in myself while off from school. Will do Shaw’s SIL program.
Had training today for a support thing I am doing for work. It was a compliment to be chosen. I will share it with another person in my unit.
Not looking forward to school again. but then it will be done in May.
Shaw D like her job?
Hope you get better soon RM. and NM.
I was thinking of peapod. but will look at Blue Apron. We eat out too much and my cholesterol has jumped. School leaves me little time for food prep. H tries but he is kind of clueless.
dt, hugs and hope your D is doing OK! And WOW that you will be finished in May!
Somehow this group needs to party with you <:-P
cq, my neighbor uses Gobble. Blue Apron was too much work. I looked it up and
it seems that dinner is on the table in 10-15 minutes as there is no prep. Everything comes
in individual bags already to be mixed and heated.
mp, loved you Mom’s story. I simply cannot imagine wanting to “date” ever again.
Hope she is laughing.
oregon, I just looked up Gobble. They’re currently available on the west coast only. Does look like it’s faster prep, though.
DTE, hugs to your D2.
It is nearly 5 a.m. and I am researching hotels for D/us to stay in as it seems we are going to have another
ice no driving storm. Her interview is this Monday and if we are iced out the Program does not typically
offer another day. This is very upsetting as it is her #1 choice and it our home town.
I have been researching the closest hotels near the interview spot. Most likely will not be able to sleep
tonight until I lock one in.
Not being able to get to the interview would be a tragedy in our lives.
That said, whatever. It will all work out.
This is the price we pay for living in the West Hills. Beautiful sundowns but locked in for days and days
when weather turns on us.
OK–see, just posting her made me realize I need to make a reservation right now. Then I will sleep.
Fingers crossed oregon.
Hugs to your D, dte. And you are almost finished with school yay!
Done!
Just need to remember to cancel it if the forecast changes!