still alive*

Sorry I've neglected you, my faithful readers. This is my 451st post. Wow. 49 more and I'll reach 500!

The trip to Utah seems to have flown by. Most of it was spent playing with the kids, cleaning up after the kids, or cooking me vegan meals yum. We only played in the snow once though. But it was fun. There was a snowball fight only slightly instigated by me, and later the best durn snowman in Utah was created right smack in my sis's front yard. We fixed him up with a hat, scarf, carrot nose, broccoli eyes, and tomato mouth. Christened "Frosty" by Andy, this guy was a fun, concerted effort between me, sis, dad, and the two oldest boys.

But like I said, the week flew. Lots of birthdays and an early Christmas to get through. You never saw so many presents. 8 year olds, by the way, are the noisiest people I have been around all year, by far. I really liked just hanging with the family though. My sis is one busy woman but looks at the bright side of life and has a great sense of humor. Their house looks really beautiful. They've had to put away a lot of toys and keep the house model-ready because they're trying to sell it. Too bad the market sucks right now.

But the worst news is everyone over there has come down with (or had) Strep Throat Scarletina. Maybe it's Scarlett Fever. Check my sis's blog for further details on that. Luckily I am not La Sicka. I am the picture of good health, and I have no idea why I escaped it. My poor mom and dad are sick with it to. Guess it could be incubating. I'm supposed to find my Kaiser doc and visit her for some antibiotics, having been exposed with lots of 2 year old and toddler wet kisses. .. But I just haven't gotten to it (had a Ferry Book Club meeting last night and got home late) and now Monday's Christmas Eve and Christmas is Tuesday, which means by the time I would get an appointment, most likely, it'd be Wednesday and whatever germs I might have will have run their course. I did a little research and I'm only a little worried about my heart valves, but like I said, I feel fine. Also it'll suck to spend the holidays and festivities sick. I hope my parents and Utah fam are better soon and definitely by Christmas.

My shampoo, Knifty Knitter, and other sundry articles are being held hostage in my parent's Sicko establishment. They drove just a few of my items home for me (3 bags) because I was already checking in 2 suitcases and had 1 carry-on backpack. This is what happens when you turn vegan and your fam lives in middle America. Yes, I brought my own beautiful red rice cooker and some staples.

I'm also on an incredibly tight budget (it's all my fault but I don't want to get into it) so I've been eating potatoes all week. They're actually very nutritious. I splurged last night at the Book Club meeting with Thai food. Mmmm. Restaurant veggies. I have my money ready for some last minute Christmas dinners and Festivist, but in general I'm watching every penny. Which is funny because now I get super happy when I find a penny on the street. (In fact, the day I came home from Utah I found 10 cents on the street -- 2 whole nickels! -- I yelped out in joy.) You see, I am doing the ol' Total Money Makeover which, although cheesy and obviously common sense, I really like.

The last little update is I have really great bosses. Except one of them gets mad because I'm not a know-it-all with Photoshop yet. I guess that is my fault. I'm trying to learn it and get faster. Other than that, they're great. I got me some airline miles.

Oh, I forgot. I almost took Gracie home. (Gracie, you know, my sis's gray cat?) But unfortunately I don't have a backyard for her to roam in so I couldn't. I wanted to though. Poor thing lives in the garage thanks to my sis's allergies. She does like hunting though. She's affectionate and a bit wild at the same time. Like she purrs like crazy when you pet her but the moment you try to leave her she goes apesh*t.

So I'm getting settled back into my life, and that's about it.

*a line from the movie Gladiator dontcha know