The Weekend - Thank Goodness It's Over

I survived the weekend which is an amazing feat considering if it could have gone wrong, it probably did; and while I wouldn't necessarily say I'm excited to be back at work on Monday, I am glad the weekend is over. 

It all started going wrong at work on Friday afternoon when I was trying to leave early (around 3:30) and everything started falling apart. The result was that I didn't leave until 5:30. While trying to get through those last two unexpected and unwanted hours on Friday, I looked through my Twitter feed only to discover that my pregnant cousin Ashley is having a boy and naming him Ezra, which has been the boy name I've wanted for oh, about 20 years. It was at this moment in the day that my monthly hormones took over and I couldn't stop crying all while trying to wrap up the constant blunders of the work week. Then I got a call from Jackie saying she wouldn't be able to make it over for dinner because Ashlyn was sick. We were hosting some girls from our Bible class for dinner that night and now my emotionally rattled self would have to handle them all alone. (Ashlyn was diagnosed with the flu over the weekend and I'm hoping that sweet child is feeling much better soon.)

Finally, I was able to leave work on Friday and make it home in time to get the chili I had made somewhat warmed up for dinner. In reality it needed to simmer for a couple of more hours, but time was not on my side. I really wanted to cancel the whole thing, but that would be a waste of food so I toughed it out instead. I was also looking forward to scooping large spoonfuls of chili onto my Saltine cracker, but as luck would have it the girl that I asked to bring crackers brought three kinds of crackers, none of which were Saltines and I had no Saltines in my house. I ask you, why would you bring all kinds of crackers but Saltines when the menu is chili? Call me crazy, but Saltines are about the only cracker I enjoy with soups, stews, and chilis. 

The girls finally arrived and we ate dinner and talked and I asked if they would mind if I let Pippa out and they said it would be okay. At that point, I let her out and she immediately jumped on top of a chair and peed on it. I grabbed her up and took her outside and one of the other girls (bless her) cleaned up the pee from the chair. The girls left around 11:00 p.m. and I went straight to bed. 

Saturday morning, I got up and did some cleaning and was actually quite proud of all I got done. I left the house around 10:15 to go to the movies to see the 10:45 showing of The Hobbit. I took some cold medicine before I left because congestion is settling in and I'm trying to head it off. I got my popcorn and had my contraband Diet Coke and found a row to the side that I could have all to myself. I settled in and watched most of the movie. Admittedly, the cold medicine kicked in and there were a few times when I closed my eyes for minutes at a time because I was exhausted and drugged. Overall, the movie was good and I would actually like to see it again when I'm able to stay awake for three hours. 

After the movie, I made a quick run by Wal-Mart and then picked up Kya, my friend Meri's daughter who was going to spend the afternoon and evening with me. Kya and I went to the house and when I opened the door, The Pip was sitting up in the chair by the front door greeting us with tail wagging. The Tide used to sit in this chair and greet me the same way so it took me a moment to realize that this dog was not supposed to be out and about. Pippa had in fact somehow managed to escape the crate and the house was a complete disaster zone. I had not yet wrapped any Christmas presents, but she had gotten into the packages and some gifts were torn, others were out of their packaging, some were just covered in dirt. There were gifts in almost every room of the house. The dirt came from the large pot that once held a peace lily. The peace lily was eaten long ago, but the pot was still in the back bedroom and now turned over on its side with about three or four pounds of potting soil all over the room. Additionally, Pip had taken it upon herself to pee in about three different places. All I can say is that thankfully she didn't eat any furniture or tear up anything really valuable. I only had to throw out one item, a book for my cousin Eden. 

Kya and I cleaned up what we could and then we started wrapping presents - this is why Kya was hanging out with me, to help wrap presents. We wrapped for a couple of hours and then we left to meet my dad to go over to Decatur for the Parade of Lights. Thankfully no one fell into the water while we were there. We found a good spot to watch out on the docks and had a really enjoyable time. After we watched the parade, we came back to Huntsville and drove around downtown and looked at the lights and decorations and then went to grab some dinner at Five Guys and then we parted ways. When we got back to the house, we put in Goonies and I popped Kya some popcorn and then I went to bed. I was done with Saturday. 

Sunday I cooked breakfast for me and Kya and while I was in the shower, Pippa decided it would be a great time to poop in the bedroom floor. Then before we left for church The Pip decided it would be a great time to throw up on the couch. We finally made it out the door to go to church. I grabbed the newspaper from the front yard and went to toss it up on the porch (as I do every week) and the bag busted and paper went everywhere. We got that cleaned up and finally made it to church. 

I attended a teacher's reception at church where we teachers receive a gift of a travel mug that was nice. We were also treated to a lovely array of food and drink. After church I went home for about five minutes to let Pippa out and then met up with Erika and her mom and Kendra. The four of us went to Guntersville to see the play Christmas Belles. They play was good and rather funny at times. Afterwards we ate dinner at Top of the River and then made the journey back to Huntsville. 

Once home, I finished up wrapping the presents and stacked them in a (hopefully) safe place and then called it a night in an effort to get some semblance of rest before the final work week of 2013.It was a trying weekend to say the least.