Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Shopping Saga


It is always something these days. Now that I have Gavin all day long and no relatives around to help watch him, I have had to be a bit creative in the way I now run errands. With a baby I've learned it is all about timing. We do not dare leave the house in the morning until he has played and pooped. Right before we depart, I will fill his belly, change his diaper and then we GO. He usually gives me about an hour or two before he has had enough. Well, today, my mission was to go to Kohl's. My dad told me about these oversized tv trays on sale for 50% off. We've been wanting to get some tv trays since we will have a lot of company soon and are in need of extra "dining" spots. Of course my extremely generous parents said they wanted to buy us the trays as an early Christmas gift and would not take "no" for an answer.

So, we headed to Kohl's. I didn't want to bring the stroller because it has dog poop all over the wheels. Once we got there, I could not find any carts that had a seat in it for Gavin. Well, there was ONE stroller/cart that had TWO seats in it and a cart attached. I figured that was the only choice I had. So, I strapped him into the front seat, put the diaper bag in the second seat and began to push the stroller. Gavin grabbed on to the sides and smiled big for the older gentleman who was talking baby talk to him. As we began moving, Gavin turned around to try to find me. Usually I am right behind him, but the look on his face was hysterical as he noticed me about 8 feet behind him pushing this gigantic contraption. I started to laugh because I felt ridiculous all of a sudden pushing this long monstrosity. And the look on Gavin's face as he strained to turn all the way around was classic. Anyway, we headed toward the right and to the back of the store. Every Kohl's I've ever been in is laid out the same....except for this one. Everything was flip-flopped. We circled the entire store in our cart "limo" without locating the tv trays. An associate directed me to the front cash registers where there were "several right by the door". So, I got into line and when it was my turn I indicated that I wanted to purchase the tv trays. I grabbed the box (which weighed a ton) and returned to the counter. A nice lady behind me was occupying Gavin and offered to help me carry the box out. I told her thank you, but said that it was very heavy and asked the cashier if there was anyone who could carry the box out to my car. I asked, "can someone help me out?" The cashier (an elderly woman)responded, "you want out?" I said, no, can someone HELP ME OUT?? The little lady behind me again said that she would carry it out for me. I looked at this lady.....she was like 5'2" and weighed probably 100 pounds. I again thanked her for the offer, but said that I would rather have an employee lift it because the box is very heavy. In the midst of all this, another lady standing behind us in line asks, "do you want me to help you carry that out?" I was like AUGHHHHHHHHHHHH! Everyone was being so nice, but I was so annoyed. I did not want these two tiny women carrying a big heavy box out to my car. I would have just done it myself, but I had Gavin in this supersized stroller cart and could not do both. I just wanted the cashier to call a guy to come do it and do it quietly without all the commotion. In the meantime, Gavin has pulled his socks off and is trying to squirm out of his seat. The cashier finally gets on her walkie talkie and asks for assistance at the front. While she is trying to explain to me that someone is on the way up to help, a lady approaches me and asks if I am done with the double stroller cart because she has two little girls and there are no other carts. I felt guilty for using the double stroller cart even though it was the ONLY one available at the time so I went into detail about why I was using it even though I only had one child. She was totally uninterested in my story and just wanted the cart. So, I pulled Gavin out and left to get the car. As I was walking out, the nice lady who offered to help me was getting into her car in a HANDICAPPED spot. She saw me, got out of her car, and said that she would carry the package out for me. It was all I could take. My eyes filled up with tears, partly because I was so frustrated with all the chaos, partly because I am hormonal, and partly because I could not believe that this little handicapped older lady was going out of her way to try to help me. No one ever stops to do that anymore (except for my husband). The guy finally came out with the box, put it in the back of my car and said, "whew, that was heavy!".

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Bums



We have been so lazy this weekend. Last night I watched the Mizzou game with John. He was all excited about it, so we had some drinks and planted ourselves on the couch. I felt like drinking some beer since it has been several months since I had one. Just sounded good. About halfway through my first Bud Light, my face began to burn and feel itchy. I had some weird reaction and had hives all over my face and neck. So, I took a Benadryl, felt better and had a few more. It was great and I slept like a rock. Today, however, we have been useless! I think we alternated between sleeping and eating all day, each taking turns watching the baby so the other could nap. It has been fun though, because I never just lay around doing nothing. Too much anxiety to lay around, plus it makes you feel really fat. At least that is my take on it.

So, tomorrow John heads back to the hospital. It has been wonderful having him here for the past 4 days. My goal this week is to get a Christmas tree and start decorating. We have lots of family coming for Christmas, so there is a lot to do! Gonna try to wipe out most of my shopping in the next two weeks. I'm not much into last minute shopping. Gets too crowded and everyone gets cranky. Plus, I like to wrap all the presents and "organize" them under the tree. My dad said he doesn't know what they will do without me there for the first time to "organize" the presents. I am a big nerd and love to arrange the presents around the tree by size and wrapping paper to make it look really pretty.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!


Sure feels weird to be celebrating Thanksgiving in Orlando. It is sunny and hot here today. But, more so it is strange being away from family on this holiday. Being away from our friends and family is difficult, but it is felt the strongest during holidays, like today. I miss you all. Even though living in Florida is fun, it will be nice to be closer to you all again someday. Having the little guy makes it THAT much more important to us.

Well....we had our first family Thanksgiving meal...me, John, and Gavin. We had quite the spread! Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, homemade bread, gravy, stuffing, and chicken. Steph, we actually substituted the chicken nuggets for Shake-n-Bake. We felt that we should be a little bit more classy with it being a holiday and all. ha ha ha. Oh, and I made a cherry pie. It looks really pretty!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Today makes me pause for a moment and really think about what is important in life. Having such incredible family and genuine friends is what keeps me going. Love you all!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Any good recipes???



Every fall I get into a cooking mood. I find myself wanting to try new recipes and enjoy watching the food network for different meal ideas. Recently I received the "pass it on" recipe email from my cousin. I hesitated to participate since I have done this before and never received the promised recipes in return. However, this time.....I am scoring big time! Everyday I am getting a new recipe from people I don't even know. Today I got a recipe for "cream puff cake". Doesn't that sound good? Not sure if I will be able to figure out a low fat version of it, but I will definitely try.

I can't believe that it is Thanksgiving week already. I guess since we are in the south, it doesn't feel like it should be the end of November yet. I am hoping that John gets the day off, but he is at the mercy of the physicians he is working under. We planned our menu for our very first "mini" Thanksgiving since we won't be with the rest of our family. We are making homemade mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, and.....chicken nuggets. Yep, that's right. John doesn't like turkey and I am definitely not cooking a huge turkey just for me, so we are improvising. Plus, turkey makes you too tired. Oh, and I am making a cherry pie. Not a homemade crust like my mom makes.....the best pie crust you will EVER have...., but instead a lovely Pillsbury one. Hey, ya gotta start somewhere, right???

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Crisis line, may I help you?

I heard from a friend this week and it made my day! I met Venoa, AKA "Zoe" nearly 5 years ago at the crisis line. We started the job at about the same time and worked the evening shift together. I had the pleasure of working several overnight shifts with her and it was very entertaining! She gave me all the ins and outs of pregnancy.....all the stuff that you don't read about it in the books. When she left the crisis line, I was sad, because she always made me laugh and is always in a good mood.

Speaking of that crisis line.....I have to say that it is my most influential place of employment. Considering that I met my hubby there makes it my FAVORITE place to have ever worked. But, beyond that, I have made friends there that will last forever. The work there is so different than any other type of job I have had. It requires a sense of humor and the need to work together with those around you. Having a great boss (Ms. Chris) and my "girls".....Kerri, Hallie, Megan, Krista, BFF Lori, Allison, Tanya.....it just doesn't get any better than that.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Parzzzleee


I love language, especially different accents and dialects I come across. In Grand Cayman we commonly heard the accents of the Jamaican and British folks. I love hearing a strong British or even a Scottish accent. Also love hearing the different pronunciations, or better yet...the different words people use.

One of the best friends I've ever had is from Mobile, Alabama. Laura is the coolest ever. Her southern accent makes her even cuter. I love getting a voice mail from her...."HAWdeee, this is Lahr-RUH....". And my favorite ever is hearing her mom say that never forgotten line (in true southern fashion), "Are they RE-TAHD-UHD or somethin'?" Laura and I used to have fun comparing words that we used. One night I walked into her apartment while she was preparing dinner. I said, "smells good- what is it?" She said, "tender. pork tender." I asked, "a pork tenderloin?" to which she exploded in laughter.

Anyway...the reason for my rambling comes from a conversation last night I had with John. A few days ago he had asked if I would get some garlic powder next time I was at the store. I did, and last night I explained to him that it was only available in "California style", which means that it has parsley mixed in it. He asked me to repeat what I had just said, so I did. He started to laugh and asked me to say it again. I couldn't figure out what was so funny. He said that the way I said "parsley" was hilarious. Apparently I say "parzlee", with a "z" sound instead of "s". He was quite amused-

We have these conversations all the time. Since we met, we've come up with a long list of words that we say differently: hammock, wash, quarter, roof, etc....when a new word comes into play, it typically results in a humorous conversation.