Haven't updated in a while, and since I've been laying in bed sick since the day after Thanksgiving, I thought I may as well do something constructive. Watching the telly and playing computer games just gets boring after a while. After this, I may fold some clothing.
I had promised to write about the rest of the trip, so let me get that out of the way. I left off with our trip to the diner. I loved that diner mostly because God was invited there. It had nothing to do with the mashed potatoes that were so heavenly that my mom wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between hers and theirs. *wink* And the jukebox had actual fifties songs on it. I couldn't resist, I had to play some Fats Domino. *lol* As we left, Doug spoke with the owner who was also running the cash register, and the man told Doug that he wouldn't have thought of starting a business without God. Shelly and I made a quick trip to the loo. We still had approximately an hour and a half to go to make it to Circleville.
We exited the diner to the rental car, and realized it was getting colder. We had heard talks of snow, but were certain it wouldn't really happen. For the most part, we were right. We made it to Circleville, and thanks to the cold weather, found a parking space immediately. We walked about a block to get to where all of the festivities were going on. Our first stop, since it was so cold, was a vendor selling scarves and gloves for cheap. Shelly treated us to gloves and orange scarves. I was actually cold. Our next stop was hot chocolate and pumpkin chili, which I found out I was apparently allergic to while eating it, due to some ingredient in it. I kept trying to eat it, but I became unable to breathe after a few more bites, so I gave it to Doug to finish off. He wasn't able to finish it due to the pumpkin burger he had purchased while we were getting chili. I sat down and drank some water and was fine after a few minutes. The best way to describe it was a miniature asthma attack, but I don't have asthma, so I had no idea what caused it. Note to self, next year stay away from the pumpkin chili.
I had my umbrella too incase it really began to rain. We got five minutes of what was more like rain and snow mixed, then the sun began to come out to the point where it blinded me. We walked around Circleville for several hours, eating, purchasing souvenirs, and have a great time. Shelly bought something called "steak on a stick" which I kept calling it, "steak on a schtick." *LOL* When it began to get dark, we called it a day and headed to the car. Our next stop, the Easton Mall.
How many of you are aware of the rule that when you go on a trip you must get lost atleast once? So we followed the rules and got lost for a bit. We stopped by a gas station and asked for directions just to find we were not actually lost. We tried to stop at this BBQ restaurant for the loo, but some rude woman yelled and cussed at us when we knocked on the door, so we went elsewhere. I wasn't sticking around for that.
We made it to the mall and looked around for a while. We stopped by a few places, but most of them were the same stores we have here. The only difference between the stores there and here were better prices. So we hit the sales while Doug patiently waited and grumbled in the background. Now Shelly can shop. Me, I'm definitely not typical. I zero in on what I want, and I get out there. I'm a hunter gatherer. Always have been, always will be. So naturally, I expect others to be also. *lol* Doesn't work that way. I got my three things and was finished. My purpose wasn't to shop, mine was to have fun. I was also the fashion inspector for Shelly, telling her what looked good and what didn't. Anyone who knows me knows that I am excellent to go shopping with as a fashion inspector because if you ask me, "does this make me look fat?", I'm going to give you the cold hard truth. Some people know better than to go shopping with me because I've told them the truth. I'm not saying I'm up on the latest trends, but friends don't let friends go out in public with their pockets behind the knees or a word like "bootylicious" on the back of that part of their pants. I'm telling you, there should be an age limit on some clothing. So once fashion inspection was completed, we let Doug go to some manly stores, (grunting and howling), as we sat and patiently waited on him, no grumbling involved. I was happy to sit down. He went to what I want to call Bose. Then we went to Brookstone, where Shelly and I sat in chairs at the front of the store and got a free massage while we waited on Doug. Finally, our mall stop was completed and we headed out to the car.
At this point, it was freezing out. Still no actual snow, which made everyone happy. We finally found a Donato's Pizza after about twenty minutes. Doug treated us all to the best pizza in the world and Shelly treated us to dessert pizza. At this point, it was fifteen after eleven. After we finished our meal, we packed up the leftovers, stopped by the loo and headed back toward home. And since I have the Fraley lead foot, I did 65mph most of the way home. I am so bad. A few stops along the way made my 65mph worthless though. We still didn't make it home until almost three. We did go to the church the next morning, but we were too tired to go in the evening.
That Monday was the saddest day of all. Doug and I had to turn the rental car back in. It was nice having two days worth of freedom, but it made the situation so much harder when we had to return the car. *sighs* I miss having a car. I couldn't go with Doug. I knew how sad I would be if I had went.
That concludes the update on the Circleville trip.
The big event after that was Hebrew Marketplace, which made me realize that I can NEVER have children. Shelly and I took my neighbor's son, a three year old little boy with beautiful eyes and a mischievious smile. He didn't seem all the excited at first. When we got to the church, he zeroed in on the animals. We pried him away when it was time to go into the sanctuary. He became a bit hyper, but when Pastor Chuck spoke, he turned around, eyes dead set on the screen, and didn't utter another word until the mic was given to someone else. I was shocked. I think maybe Pastor Chuck should make a children's cd or dvd because I know some parents who would love for their children to sit down and behave. *lol* I don't know what it was, but my neighbor's little boy turned into an angel while Pastor Chuck spoke. By the end of service, we had to take him out. He kept trying to push a stroller in front of us and wouldn't sit still and was wanting to tear up the offering envelopes. I looked at Shelly and said, "We're going outside now." And the sad part was at that point, Pastor Chuck had asked for nobody to be moving or looking around. I figured it was better to be disobedient at that point than to have a little boy start running wild during the altar call. Either way, it just wasn't going to work.
We walked outside to get candy. The little boy was totally interested at first, then he didn't want to stand in line, then he didn't want to let other children have a turn at the games, and then after that, I had to walk away. I was about to start yelling, which is counterproductive unless a child is about to run into a busy street or something, and so I walked away and got a cold drink and some of that lentil soup they were giving out. Then I walked back and carefully considered every aspect of the situation. Then, my neighbor's little boy began digging in the dirt and throwing it at people as they walked by. I was livid and embarassed, silently praying that the ground would swallow me up, never to be seen again. When the little boy ran into the parking lot, where people were pulling out to leave, I lost it. I yelled and I told Shelly I was done, and proceeded to walk into the church. She followed me, and bless her heart, if she hadn't taken him to wash his hands, I would have yelled at her and everybody who came near me as a matter of fact, and they didn't do anything wrong. But I had just had enough. We gladly returned the little boy back to his home, where the babysitter was, and went home. Shelly left shortly after and I went to bed! Now I know what parents do when their children are in school or at daycare. If the parents are not at work, THEY'RE ASLEEP!!!! Let me tell you, a word to the wise out there, OCD and children, well they just do not mix, not at all. I need some serious deliverance if I'm ever going to be a parent because at this point, I'm even smart enough to know better. That cute baby is going to make you worry when they start eating solid food, and then crawling, and then walking, because an OCD sufferer can see that the little baby might fall and need stitches, or choke on something they're eating, or put carpet fuzz in their mouths! I need to stop now because my heart is starting to race. They need a few books called "Parenting for Dummies," and "Parenting for Dummies, OCD Edition." All I know is that I'm not ready. And that's okay.
In other news, I am going to quit driving. Why? Details below.
I got to drive my friend's mom's car, a Volvo, the Thursday before Thanksgiving. This car was totally tricked out. And the sound system was right up my alley. I could have gotten down the street on the bass alone. There were controls for the cd player and volume right there on the steering wheel! I got into the car to take Doug to church, and it was my first drive, so I began squealing with delight as I drove down the street. One thing I learned is that when you drive an expensive automobile, you will be cut off by other expensive automobiles. We pulled out onto the road, and a BMW cut us off. Then it wasn't fun anymore. I was flipping out. I was like, "This is not my car, this is not my car, this is not my car, nothing bad can happen, this is not my car...." You should have seen me, it was like Driving Miss Daisy. I didn't go over 30mph in town, or over 65mph on interstate. I beat my lead foot into submission. I take Doug to the church to volunteer, then I go home and chill. I got ready to go a few places, then to pick up Shelly from school. People behind me were ticked because I was driving the speed limit on the road to pick her up. I turned around and screamed, "This is not my car!" The same thing happened on the way back after I picked her up. I didn't care. I wasn't driving a Chevette, I was driving a luxurious automobile and I wasn't about to get into an automobile accident or get pulled over.
We headed toward my place and I decided to go through Proctorville. I was already there anyway. As I drive farther up, I see lights and traffic backed up, so I pulled into the City Bank parking lot and turn around. As I start to pull out, cars sped up, so I couldn't turn. I looked in the rearview once and then behind me twice (because I don't trust the mirrors alone) before putting the car in reverse, and after checking and double checking I proceed to back up. All of the sudden, I hear honking behind me, so I stop. I'm not sure what happened, but a large red Chevy Lumina is behind me, I mean almost on the bumper behind me. She's giving me dirty looks and pointing. I was like, "OMG, I hit her. I start crying behind my sunglasses. Shelly's like, "You didn't hit her, we would have felt it." I replied, "Why is she yelling at me and pointing at her car? I looked three times, I swear!" I am freaking out and telling her, "My life is over. This is my last night on earth because I wrecked your mom's car and this car is probably worth more than my life, so I'm dead." Shelly is kind of laughing at me at this point. We pull over to the side of the road to get out of the way. I wasn't going to leave the scene if we had hit. We waited on the woman to see if she was okay. Shelly got out and there was no evidence that we hit on either car. I was still freaking out and Shelly was angry because the woman obviously didn't know what back up lights were and she shouldn't have pulled up so close to us. Shelly had a point, but I wasn't concerned about that. So finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the woman pulled up beside us, I asked if she was okay and she replied that there was no damage, then she left. Didn't ask if we were okay or anything like that. Heck with that, her car was fine, she was out of there. We slowly got back out onto the road and I pulled over at a gas station to check the back of the car. Shelly kept assuring me that we couldn't have hit her. I was still upset because the woman didn't give us her info, she just left. Here I am thinking that she could claim injury and get Shelly's mom into trouble later on. So this little Shellye went "Waaaaah, waaaah, waaah," all the way home. Shelly #2 was ticked. She called her mom, and I was begging her, "Don't call her, we will tell her when she gets back, that way my beating will be quick and not as painful, where as the waiting will be terrifying." She told her mom on the phone, and her mom said, "Tell her to stop crying and calm down." I laughed. Of course, another ODC sufferer would know what I was going through. *LOL* She wasn't even concerned. She figures I didn't hit the other woman's car either. I calmed down, and we headed out to do a few things before girls night ensued. Girl's Night was fun. I got to meet some of Shelly's friends and a steak dinner to boot. YAY. I was thrilled. But, what happens at Girl's Nights, stays at Girl's night, so if you weren't there, too bad. (Nothing bad happened, just have to leave some mystery.)
So if an almost wrecked Volvo wasn't bad enough, it gets even better. I'm driving another friend's car, who will remain nameless, but I drove because my friend's boyfriend was too tired to, and so we're heading back to my place from where she was staying, and I'm driving on I64. Right past the off ramp to Hal Greer is a fawn laying on the side of the road. I almost hit it. I was a mess. I called 911 to let them know of the obstacle on I64. They had another call about the fawn while I was on the phone. So, the man assured me he would have the fawn removed from interstate before it or someone else got hurt.
A few days after the above incident, same nameless friend, same vehicle, we're at Speedway. My friend is backing out of the parking space, and we hit a guy who was pulled up at the gas pump while he was pumping gas. The guy was parked so crooked and halfway out into the space where cars needed to pull in to get to Speedway, and we didn't see him whip in to the spot by the gas pumps. We waited to see what he would do because I advised my friend not to leave the scene of the accident. The guy finished fueling up his truck and took off. We figure he didn't have any insurance.
It's times like these that make me glad I don't have a car. Seriously, I shouldn't even get in a vehicle at this point.
What else am I missing? Thanksgiving. Oh yes. Thanksgiving was fun. At this point, I had been sick for two weeks, but thought I was getting better. No, I should have just let them put me on the cart and got it over with.
The day before Thanksgiving, Ruth Ann and I made the stupid mistake of venturing out to Kroger. Why? I know, right? I wanted paper plates and plasticware for Thanksgiving dinner. I walked in the store and turned around and walked back out. There was no way I was standing in line for three hours. I had to pick Doug's dad up from work, I hadn't even eaten yet, and I had to get Shelly and Janet. So I'm about to cry and call everyone and tell them Thanksgiving would be cancelled this year, atleast at the Townsend House. Obviously, I ate, took Ruth Ann to work, picked Shelly and Janet up, and we still had Thanksgiving Dinner, just no decorative paper plates this Thanksgiving. That meant dishes. We got the perishables from Shelly's house and her things, then picked Janet up from Ironton, got back, put the things in our fridge, and tiptoed into church ten minutes late. We took communion toward the end of service. After church, we met up with some friends in the narthex and Shelly bought a pumpkin roll. Then, we went home, Shelly helped me color my hair (it turned out well) and then I proceeded to make Chex Mix. This is where the fun starts. I put it all together, I was so excited. The knob on our oven is broken, so Doug has to turn it on for me. He turns it on, and I excitedly stick the carefully stirred chex mix into the oven. It burned. I only kept it in their for 45 minutes when I seen that it was burning. I was upset. This year was my first year cooking in a gas stove. Apparently Chex Mix does not work well in a gas stove. I was very unhappy. Shelly and Doug and Janet ate it, but all I wanted to do was cry when I looked at it and tasted it. I was so disappointed. We stayed up late, then Shelly wanted to watch Passion of the Christ. So we did. It was just as intense as it was the first few times I saw it. Then we finally went to bed. I was so tired.
On Thanksgiving Day, I woke up with no voice. I've been like this ever since. Thank God that I am not one of those women who feels they need to talk nonstop, but being able to talk would have been nice on Thanksgiving Day. Guess I was asking too much. So I started the turkey, had Shelly and Doug help me with the cheeseballs. Shelly made an orange almond one, and Doug and I made a Daughter-in-law cheeseball, whatever that is. It was good though. That's what it's called. I don't know why. I was going to make my mom's famous homemade mashed potatoes, but when Shelly got the milk out, we found out it was buttermilk. I was livid. I had been at Kroger that Tuesday looking for a half gallon of whole milk. I never buy whole milk anymore, but you can't make my mom's mashed potatoes without whole milk. Unfortunately, the only whole milk was in a whole gallon. I didn't want a gallon because I knew I wouldn't use it all and the milk would go bad. I looked at all of the half gallons, and all they had was 2% and 1% and skim, and fat free, and no whole milk. This was at the Barboursville Kroger. So I picked up a glass bottle of milk, looked it over, and it said "whole milk" on the front. I wish I had looked at the cap, but the Barboursville Kroger was a war zone. so I grabbed what I thought was Vitamin D whole milk and went along my merry way. I had no idea. All I knew was that I needed whole milk. My mom's mashed potatoes called for whole milk. The potatoes are supposed to be thick enough to stay on the ceiling, if flipped from a spoon, for atleast five to seven minutes. Don't ask. So I go to make these heavenly potatoes, and I pull out the milk. I looked at the cap, and in what appeared to be microscopic letters, it read "buttermilk" right there in teeny tiny letters. I wanted to throw the milk to the ground and cry, but I put it back, told Shelly I was sorry, but Sheila's mashed potatoes would not be present at this meal. So we got a bag of large potatoes for nothing.
Doug had recorded part of the parade, so we watched it and had coffee and some of the pumpkin roll Shelly bought. I put out the cheeseballs and plates for when people arrived, Then it was off to hit the showers. Janet went first, Doug went last because he takes longer than the rest of us. I cleaned, got showered and ready, and then greeted the guests as best as I could. Doug's parents, Shelly, Janet, and my brother Paul couldn't come, but our friend Paul from church came. He brought dessert and crackers, and Coca~Cola. He also brought me a gift. I call it my gift because it was mainly for me...FUNYUNS. I was thrilled. The turkey was done by the time the guests arrived. Now that is the beauty of having a gas stove. That turkey was perfect, and it was exactly 145 degrees in the center. We also had a ham. Why? Ask Shelly because she was the one who decided we needed it. That's the first time I made a ham for Thanksgiving. I showed her how to decorate it, and we cooked it once the turkey was completed. We did not have my mother's ham glaze because I forgot to get the stuff, and you couldn't have paid me to go out to a store to get it. So I will do that for Christmas. The ham was precooked, but it didn't get to 160 in the middle. Paul, being a health inspector, said not to worry about it because it was precooked and it felt and tasted hot enough. I was still freaked. The last thing I want to happen is for people to get food poisoning. I will cook, check the temp, and keep cooking till it's done or burnt. *lol* So I trusted Paul's judgement and let it go. I then heated the side dishes and set the table. Once I sat the table, we were out of silverware. It just kept getting better and better. *sarcasm* I topped the sweet potato souffle with marshmallows. It wasn't the same as my brother's but it would have to do. It turned out pretty. Shelly heated the gravy, and then we all sat down and Doug gave thanks for the meal. Everyone had plenty to eat and then some, then for the most part, we all went into our respective food comas. Shelly stretched out in the spare room. Janet got on the computer. Paul and Doug were hanging out. Doug's parents went in the living room and fell asleep on the couch as they attempted to watch something on t.v.. I circulated among everyone. That's what the hostess does. Everyone assured me that the food was good. We broke out the pumpkin pie after I put Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend in the coffee pot. Shelly had the chocolate cake that Paul brought. Crystal came over not too long after we had pie and she brought pasta salad and lemon bars. I sampled some of that, then it was time to take everyone home who didn't drive to my house. Janet was first. I was so tired and falling asleep, so I stopped by Speedway to get some caffeine. I wasn't quite in a food coma, just under the influence of tryptophan. Then we went to Central Park, but the lights were not on. What a perfect ending to a perfect day (sarcasm). I then took Shelly home. Crystal rode with me the whole time, and came back to my place. She ended up spending the night. My wonderful husband cleaned up and put everything away while I was gone. I got into my pajamas and was on the couch asleep until four-ish in the morning.
Of course, the next day, I ended up going to the doctor. I went to the Med Express clinic by Gabriel Bros. I wasn't even there for an hour. They got me in and out. Unfortunately, I broke out in hives after two doses of the medication. Why do I have to be allergic to almost everything? It's not fun! I quit taking it to see if it would go away, and I am going to resume the meds once the hives are gone and see if that's what caused it. It could have been anything at this point.
I think I've updated enough for now. Nothing real exciting, well atleast till Christmas. Maybe nothing will go wrong then...
My head in the clouds...
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