The Month in Review

Since I have not blogged in the last month, due to Christmas, vacation, and all of the yearly seasonal hullabaloo, I figured that I would pop in and let you all know that I am still firmly planted above ground, and give you the quick rundown of the last 30 days or so.

* November's end brought a culmination to my Fall Quarter class, in which I received an "A." Thank goodness. As I told my professor, going back to school almost 20 years after the original college experience, I had something to prove to myself, and the "A" confirms that I'm where I should be, and deserve to be.

* Thanksgiving was nice, including seeing my brother and my soon-to-be sister in law. We had a wonderful meal, good conversation, and lots of laughter.

* The end of November also heralded my 17th wedding anniversary. I'm STILL surprised that Juggling Freak picked me, and even more grateful that he's managed to put up with me after 17 years.

* The beginning of December brought torrential rain to our area, which put a dismal, gloomy mood on everything until it lifted. The kids at school were stir-crazy due to no outside time, and we were all champing at the bit to get vacation started.

* Our higher-up muckety-mucks tell us right before Christmas Break what a dire financial strait we are in, and make decisions to cut costs wherever possible, leaving people to freak out about losing their jobs right before Christmas. No firm decisions are made about who, specifically, or what programs get the ax, but we know it's there, looming over us.

* School ends on the 18th of December, and everyone is relieved to have some break time coming.

* Offspring, Juggling Freak, and I spend Christmas Eve with my mother; Christmas morning at our own house; and head off to his mother's for Christmas Day lunch. Many presents were opened, and much joy was shared. We had steaks and baked potatoes at my mother's, and we went out for our traditional Japanese meal with his mother. (That particular tradition was begun because his mother can burn Jell-O, and we'd like NOT to spend the holidays sequestered near the Porcelain Throne.) Christmas also confirms that Offspring is, indeed, one spoiled child. Spoiled, but hopefully, not rotten.

* We make a quick blitz trip to TheCityOfMyBirth to see my father, uncle, and Grandmother. Grandma is 90 years old, and getting to the point where I worry about how many more Christmases with her we'll have. So, we go up for one night, and pop in on her to give her our best and let her know that we are thinking about her. My father takes us to dinner, and we all hatch plans for my brother's wedding in May. All other family is occupied, so no other meet-ups manage to happen. (All of my mother's family are located there as well -- uncles, aunts, and assorted cousins.)

* We return home yesterday, getting slowed down on I-95 South several times by absolutely nothing. This is frustrating and gives me a tension headache. I stripped all the linens off our beds, and we settle down for the night.

* On tap for today was a trip to the optometrist for JF. He's having trouble with night driving and it looks like his previous prescription is no longer cutting it. Turns out he needs bifocals, which he jokes makes him feel old. Heck, as long as he can see, I wouldn't care WHAT kind of glasses they are!

* My elbow has been bothering me for days -- I was diagnosed with epicondylitis about 8 or so months ago, and it hadn't bothered me much until last week. The pain has gotten steadily worse, and now I'm constantly hugging that arm to my side. Squeezing the nozzle to get gas yesterday was excruciating, so it's off to the doctor for me on Thursday. Oh, joy.

You're all caught up now. Any questions? There WILL be a quiz later, which will count for 35% of your grade, so ask now if you're unclear on anything. :)