Me again!

Sorry about the hiatus, y'all. It's been a little crazy around here, and oddly, almost none of it has to do with Christmas.

Monday was spent shopping in the city with Vicky. It's become our tradition to go shopping on her birthday, but since I could not shop Tuesday, we went Monday. I went with much trepidation, most of which proved to be unfounded. Traffic in the city is always stressful at best; I just pretend I'm back in Italy and it works out all right. I was more concerned about crowds in the mall. Most of the time, her birthday is the only day in December I'll willingly go to any mall, and I like to shop! Apparently, though, Monday morning is a good time to shop in December because the crowds were very light and all the sales clerks were in a good mood. Have I mentioned how glad I am not to be in retail this year?

Tuesday-Vicky's actual birthday-was spent getting up early to go to the hospital for a minor surgery. I won't go into great detail other than to say it was female related in the (as my doctor put it) Pain In The Neck Category (as opposed to the Must Deal With Category). In my view, it was MY Big Pain In The Neck, which moved it back to Must Deal With. Long story short, I spent nine hours of my life on a 90-second procedure which could have been done in the doctor's office had my insurance company been willing to pay for it. It was one of those times I wished I was independently wealthy so I could just pay for the daggone thing, but one of the diagnostic tests was over $600. We're not there. Yet. Anyway, I'm recovering quickly and feeling pretty good, and the degree of success of the procedure will take time to determine. For the record, it is NOT how I would choose to spend my child's birthday. I must say, though, that I'm impressed to have gotten it done so quickly, considering I first heard of it in early September.

On tap for today is a rather lengthy to-do list; Mom and Stepdad will be here with the Dog tomorrow afternoon. Also today is the staff Christmas Party at the Day Job. That'll be fun--we like cleaning out the fridge at work! Note to self: Wear fat jeans to the party, and cobble together dinner for the rest of the family.

I'll be scarce for a few days and likely won't get in here again until after the 28th, unless I have funny Ryan vs. Dog stories. I'll try to get pictures of those. Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate.