First, it felt wonderful to be loved and adored by this beautiful 1,000 year old vampire. It was passionate and fulfilling and the intensity of his feelings made me warm.

Second, it was difficult to love him in return. Not that he isn't lovable, he truly is as Charlaine has written him. But darling Eric had so much knowledge that he offered an opinion on every facet of my life rather than letting me experience things firsthand.  Maddening.

Lastly, as I stumbled out of bed I realized I had one of the worst headaches of my life. The sense of conflict and loss manifested physically. Ugh.

Given a preference, I'll take the Helo dreams please. They have all the good feelings with none of the bad. The whole philosophical debate regarding the quality of love corresponding to the amount suffering is bunk. I concede making a relationship successful involves work but loving someone shouldn't be that hard.  

In other news, I love my Kindle. I don't know how I've gone so long without one. My first e-read was "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (geez, glad I didn't have any dreams influenced by that). It was intense and at times disturbing but I do see what all the hubbub is about. It's a great locked room mystery. I'm onto the second in the series now.

Barring cable, summertime television sucks. Micah and I have been re-watching Battlestar Galactica (actually it's a continuation of when we started the series during Christmas break). We just finished season 3 last night (god damn you Baltar!) but I'm excited because I don't think I ever re-watched season 4 and 4.5 from the original telecasts.

Life has moved fast. It's been a whirlwind of 9 months since I last truly blogged (and no, 9 months is not significant-- no bun in my oven despite many attempts) and it's difficult to know where to start so I guess I'll begin where I left off. October which is usually my favorite month of the year, was one of my least favorites of 2009.

• We went to Arkansas to inter Nana's ashes with Papa. She had passed away in August.
• Rachel (my spirit sister) came down for a long weekend visit. Hadn't seen each other in over 10 years and we picked up right where we left off-- as old, dear friends do. It was awesome!
• Mom got sick (we suspected walking pneumonia) and was hospitalized. They drained 2 liters of fluid from her lungs. After multiple tests the diagnosis was not good: she has 3 tumors in her "good" lung-- stage 4 inoperable, incurable, practically untreatable cancer. Yeah it's ok to say "Fuck" now, I know I did and still do.
• The best treatment option (to slow the cancers growth) was a drug that is particularly hard on the heart. Unfortunately Mom failed all her heart tests, making her ineligible for any cancer treatment whatsoever. We've spent the last few months trying to get her heart strong and "normal". It's improving but it's still not where they want it to be.
• I got promoted at work to a management position. It's been a growth opportunity and I do enjoy the work but the first 3-4 months consisted of 60hr+ work weeks just for me to get the hang of everything and prove myself to my new director. I think I'm doing well though-- my presentations to VPs have all gone well and I've done my best to do right by my employees (despite having to lay one off, ugh! Sucks to pop your mgmt cherry 4 months into the job).
• This intense focus on work resulted in some guilt and remorse at not being able to spend more time with Mom immediately after we found out she was sick.
• Had to go to Omaha, NE in mid-October for work to meet my new boss and the management team. Not much I can say about Nebraska. I mean the trip was fine, the people were all good but the place? Meh.
• Had to go to Albuquerque, NM in November, again for work. It was great! Long days with a ton of meetings and content but we had our evenings scheduled with touristy type things-- great food, sightseeing in Santa Fe, a visit to one of the tribal casinos, etc. My only bummer of it was I was there during New Moon release and couldn't sneak off to see it with all the other first day die hards.
• Thanksgiving week Micah and I spent moving all of my crap, I mean stuff from the condo into the house. Took through Christmas to get it all over and to be honest I still have the extra room full of boxes and junk but slowly I widdle away at it as I can.
• Speaking of Christmas-- Mom requested we skip present purchases and instead go to DisneyWorld in January. Having been to DisneyWorld twice in the prior 12 months, I wasn't jumping up and down with joy at the suggestion but Mom's sick so Mom gets what Mom wants of her children. So we skipped the commercial rush and saved our funds for the trip.
• Surprisingly, the January trip to Orlando and DisneyWorld was AWESOME. It was exactly the break I needed. The weather was fantastic the entire time and other than an accute sickness that hit Mom, Jenni and Micah for a couple of days each, we all had a nice getaway.
• Vincent-- Mom and Dad's 10+ year old Great Pyrenees passed away. He had a big tumor in his stomach that had spread to his pancreas and liver. Mom was depressed; we did our best to keep her spirits up.
•  After a few months of grieving Mom was ready to get a new dog. We searched, kept an eye on the local shelter and ultimately they rescued a very malnourished and abused but sweet approximately 9-12month old Great Pyrenees. Mom wanted to go with a Greek God name so I (thinking more along BSG lines) suggested Apollo and it stuck. He's a handful and still being trained but his disposition is so loving and exuberant. He's had a very positive effect on Mom.
• Worried about my own health, I got a full blood panel done. Fortunately my results came back good-- my only ailment? A severe Vitamin D deficiency. I mean so low that the doctor recommended a supplement of 4,000mg a day (she was concerned about my immune system). That's a shit ton of supplement. All the indoor working made for a very vampire-like Heather. I tried 1,000mg a day but it was just... weird. So instead I'm trying to get at least 15-20 minutes of sun a day. I've felt great ever since and I have tan lines for the first time since I left Houston. Love the sun!
• All this working, worrying and whatnot led to a very sedentary Heather. In April I started wearing a pedometer -- in establishing a baseline, some days I didn't get over 1,000 steps! The recommended is 10,000! Situation must be remedied. So I've been forcing myself to stop working, leave the house, and walk. Beau has turned out to be a great partner. Every day around 4:30pm, he comes over to my desk and starts with the sad dog eyes saying "Heather can we go now?" It's effective.
• An interesting byproduct to this? Our animals have shifted alliances slightly. While kitty still sleeps with me and Beau sleeps with Micah, during the day they are hanging around and demanding attention conversely. It's odd.
• I've tried for 6-7 months to get pregnant and it hasn't taken. I'm getting quite frustrated with the process. It's painful, emotionally.
• Due to the hectic work/family schedule and the lack of crafting space, I went without any card-making or scrapbooking for more than 8 months. Happy to report I unpacked it all about 2 wks ago and made my first card! Yay, a creative outlet again!
• Am about to take back up my photography thanks to Dad upgrading his digi camera and passing his older one to me. Yay, another creative outlet!!
• Have been trying to put together a CO trip for the summer but scheduling is proving difficult. May have to abandon the plan :( Fortunately I was able to spend a day with Regina doing the Morro Bay tourist thing while she was in California so I was able to see at least one of my CO crew.

I think that's about it-- the last 9 months in 20 [some quite lengthy] bullet points or less. Now that I've reinstalled Movable Type, hopefully I'll get better about blogging random thoughts. And of course I'll update if there are any changes in Mom's status. For now, she's going strong and still working and living her life and that's the best course of action.  

Life does indeed move fast. In the last month or two though, I've been taking the time to look around and enjoy it. I've started to feel more like myself rather than some corporate robot.

The Hurt Locker
Watchmen
Star Trek
The Hangover
(500) Days of Summer
Up in the Air
New Moon
The Proposal
Away We Go
Pirate Radio

Glamour - one of the aforementioned replacement subscriptions for the defunct Jane magazine. I first read Jane while "enjoying" London-Heathrow for an extended period of time and was smitten. Sure it was a fashion mag but it had an irreverence that appealed to me. Glamour as a replacement is a joke. They rarely get taken out of the plastic anymore. It's all 20 ways to nab a guy, the perfect smokey eye or 5 exercises for a flat stomach and frankly I don't give a shit about any of that garbage writing. While I do love fashion photography and clothes and especially handbags, I heed Baz Luhrman's advice and "don't read beauty magazines, they'll only make you feel ugly". (Wikipedia assures me that I had a choice in my Jane replacement including Vanity Fair but I was given no such choice. VF would have been preferable to the badness that is Glamour.)

US Weekly - replaced my Premiere subscription. I am a movie afficianado. Us Weekly is a horrific gossip rag. What the hell were they thinking by using it as a replacement? Another that goes straight to the recycling pile unread. Jessica Simpson's latest meal does not interest me in the slightest. Thanks for killing the trees you idiot lie mongers. (Wikipedia says on this one that I could have received my money back, funny I didn't get any notice of how to do that.)

Rachel Ray - a replacement for Bon Appetit, which felt like a bait & switch because Bon Appetit is still going strong. As far as replacements go it's less offensive than the Premiere to Us Weekly substitution but it's still kind of like being invited out to dinner at Michael Mina and instead going to Chili's. I like RR as a person and TV host but frankly most of her recipes suck. Well they aren't bad per se, they're just uninspiring and simple. I can cook better dishes on my own without a recipe.

Paula Deen - Having been raised in The South I love, love, love Paula's recipes. But that much butter can kill you, yo.

Rolling Stone - another replacement but I can't remember what it replaced. I am not a music buff. Sure I like music but Micah routinely trips me up with questions like "who sings this song?" (more often than not the answer is Dio.) RS unlike Glamour though, does have high points: the feature writing. I LOVE reading their indepth articles. I wish they made a version of the mag that was nothing but the features and skipped all the rock stars doing bad things gossip. I still reference (in my head if not in casual conversation) their pieces on the War on Drugs and the evil of Goldman Sachs (or Dick Cheney). Ethan Hawke's treatment on Kris Kristoferson finally thawed my "team Uma" alliance. It's no wonder I'm sucked into things like "Generation Kill". Good fucking writing boys (and gals). It must suck to be stuck on the non-feature side of the writing staff. RS, do more features. They remind me of why I wanted to be a journalist 20 years ago.

Entertainment Weekly - I'll admit I only have a subscription for this mag because when the Twilight issue came out last spring, every teeny-bopper in my sleepy little town beat me to the punch. Ended up being a good buy. I usually read or at least skim it. Sometimes I like it more than others, all depending on the subjects. I LOVE Diablo Cody's turns at oped. I LOATHE Stephen King's (Mark Harris usually falls somewhere in the middle for me). I crack up at the Hit List and the Bullseye. This week's VAMPIRES issue was awesome, it would have been perfect if they'd subbed in Alexandar for Stephen on the cover. (Gooo team Eric!)

Cards and Scrapbooking - two separate subscriptions published by the same company. Coming in at $80 a piece for a years subscription (each!) they are great idea books for when you need a creative muse. The photography is excellent, the advertising is minimal (and yet somehow more annoying because it's bunched together rather than strewn throughout). My first year's subscription was excellent quality-- printed on thick cardstock that will easily last years (and are kept, not recycled). I actually sent them the DO NOT RENEW notification and they auto-renewed me anyway. I sent back a written inquiry as to why they auto-renewed me when I'd followed their instructions to opt out but I've not heard anything back. Then I received this month's editions and they're printed on flimsy, considerably thinner, way too glossy paper. I'm not a happy camper. I may have to escalate my protest in the next few days.

Parents - a gift from MelissaFro. I peruse but since a lot of the info isn't yet pertinent to my life, my interest is lukewarm. Some months I'll be honest, I can't bring myself to flip through them. But since they are chock full of good info that I'll need at some point in the future, I keep them.

My postal delivery person must hate trying to cram all those mags into my tiny mailbox every month.

Just in case you live under a rock (as trolls do), Spock as a half-Vulcan adheres to logic and rational, linear thinking. Kirk as the hot-head with something to prove relies on his instincts.

Too often we see imbalances in the world: cold-hearted logic or emotionally driven irrationality. Indeed towards the beginning of the film we see fine examples of both. Neither extreme is very helpful and can be exploited as Kirk demonstrates by heeding old-Spocks advice to push young-Spock's buttons into relinquishing command.

It is the duty of the enlightened individual (and old-Spock!) to stike a balance just as Kirk and young-Spock inspire those aspects in one another. We all possess both to varying degrees. I believe Spock taps into his instinct when he chooses Starfleet over the Vulcan ministry. Kirk uses (sound?) logic in his defense of beating the Kobayashi. 

We must constantly and quickly question ourselves to ensure we're listening to both rationale and instinct.

Sometimes it is easy to dismiss instinct as irrational emotion. On November 5th I mistook my gut instinct as a general fear of needles. I rationalized that I was being silly and childish in resisting a recommended flu shot that logically would protect not only me but my baby. I set aside my instinct and allowed the nurse to inject me. I felt fine, strong even, the day before and yet the day after I was knocking on death's door.

In retrospect, as it is only as time passes that we can objectively assess such dire situations, I ignored my gut instinct because there was little logic in resisting the shot. While there is no conclusive proof that the vaccination caused my physical plight, there are just too few variances from my norm to point to another culprit. My point is not to lay blame anyway, I blamed myself for 5 months. 

My point is do not easily dismiss your instincts. Hone them. They're part of our Darwinian survival kit for a reason. Sometimes there is no rational reason for the "right" decision. Conversely, clearly there is no instinct involved in 2+2=4. But as adults so few of our daily decisions are as clear cut as that. Strike the balance. Strive to be old-Spock. I know the standard is high but it's an investment with uncalculated returns. Spend the minute or two it takes to dissect whether the logic you're contemplating is being shaped by valid emotions, tainted emotions or pure instinct. If it's instinct, like Kirk I'd rather go with it and be wrong than ignore it and be forced to live with the shoulda-coulda-wouldas.

And I guess if you lack either one of those ways of thinking within yourself, find a best friend or partner who compliments you with the opposing view. Who knows, he may end up saving both your current and future self from an insane Romulan.

Sex and the City
Mamma Mia!
Definitely, Maybe
The Dark Knight
Twilight
Iron Man
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
In Bruges
Zack & Miri Make a Porno
The Reader (added to list in August, formerly Vicky Cristina Barcelona was a placeholder)

Arrived in Fremont around 1. Parked the car at Rhonda's (it's a complicated relation, suffice it to say she's family). Visited for about an hour over freshly baked chocolate chip cookies before picking up Laurise from school. Had spaghetti for lunch. Picked up Andrissa from school who was bummed because the only other girl on her wrestling team quit that day which meant to continue wrestling, she'd have to practice on boys which is not something she nor her father were keen on. Around 5ish Rhonda dropped us off at the BART station and we rode it into San Francisco.

Lugged our bags uphill from the Powell station to Union Square. Checked into the Westin St. Francis. Beautiful hotel. Mom loved the architecture and history.  Great views. Unpacked and hit Cheesecake Factory on the root of Macy's. We sat outside which was fine while the sun was up but got a bit chilly after dusk with our frozen drinks.

Thursday March 26:
Caught a cab over to Golden Gate Park. Walked around. Hit the de young museum. Mom drooled over the Yves Saint Laurent collection (I'll admit it was amazing). Then we wandered through the Warhol exhibit which was a full sensory experience-- art, music, light installations, film, projections, etc. Pretty cool stuff and appropriate for the SF vibe. Enjoyed the rest of the museum. The coolest thing that we saw was the AL Farrow Cathedral piece-- made from 2,000 gun parts. It was incredible.

Walked next door to the Japanese Tea Garden. Snapped a ton of pictures-- all of the flowers were in full bloom, the weather was beautiful. Mom got a bit tired of posing and cranky when I made her climb the steep bridge but she got over it. Surprisingly I had zero allergy problems the entire time. Pollen must not be a trigger.

Went to Sears Fine Foods for dinner where we had the best gourmet burger ever. Kobe beef, aged white American cheese, on a bed of field greens. Delish! It was a slow night so the executive chef came out and chatted with us.

Tried to get Wicked tickets for that night but it didn't happen. On our way back to the hotel from dinner, we passed a Borders and I just happened to notice the sign in the window saying Amber Benson was doing a reading/signing at 7pm. It was 6:55pm. So of course I drug Mom in there. Our to-go desserts melted a little bit (hers: coconut flan, mine: hazelnut mousse) but oh well.

Back at the hotel we called it an early night since we'd gotten up so early and done so much walking. Mom got to watch her Thursday night shows (Grey's, Private Practice, etc.) Strangely the hotel's direct TV did not carry a CW affiliate so I missed Smallville. No big. On the plus side whoever had stayed in the room before me had DVR'ed the BSG finale so I watched that for a second time while enjoying a night cap and my soupy mousse.

Friday March 27:
Got up early again. Hit all of the Union Square shopping opportunities (Neiman Marcus, Saks, Macy's, etc). I didn't buy too much-- only a hoodie, a henley and a mark ecko bag. I tried on a wonderful Michael Kors dress that fit like a glove and was flattering to boot but was on sale for a meager $398. Yah, I don't wear dresses enough to warrant that.

Met Rachel for lunch. Rachel as in almost-sister-in-law, former roomie from SC, concert partner Rachel. We hadn't seen each other since after she graduated in 1994. It was awesome! We chatted and chatted and chatted. Mom hit the fabric stores while we sat in Union Square catching up. Did I mention we talked? Hehe. There's just so much that goes on over 15 yrs and I was fairly engrained in her family for so long that there was a lot to talk about. We barely scraped the surface! But it was kinda cool how alike we are on things over the years-- like our love of Shiraz and fascination with 12/21/2012.

Rachel headed back to UC Davis and Mom and I went to get changed for our cabaret show. Regina was supposed to have flown in the night before but a snowstorm in Denver caused all of the flights to get cancelled. So she was going to have to meet us at Club Fugazi.

The show, Beach Blanket Babylon was HIGH-larious! Oh my gosh, if you're in SF, I highly recommend making the time to catch it. It's a cabaret of popular culture and we all enjoyed it immensely. Afterwards, we went to an Italian restaurant (can't remember the name) for dinner. Regina and I had gnocchi which were delish. I forgot what Mom ordered. Wish I had been taking foodie pics all this time, all of the food we had was amazing. After dinner we walked around SF: saw the church where Marilyn Monroe got married, the oldest saloon in town. Caught a cab back to the hotel and hit the Clock Bar for late night drinks. Two Mary Pickfords and Mom and I were tipsy. The vibe was pretty cool in there though it surely was breaking some fire code for the amount of people crammed into such a small space.

Saturday Marcy 28:
Packed our bags and prepared for check-out. Met Regina at Sears Fine Foods (again) for breakfast this time. Had great conversation over sweedish pancakes and french toast. Unfortunately Mom had to work the next day and we still had to trek out to Fremont, spend some time with the Randall's and hit the road so our day was cut a bit short.

I learned that I LOVE San Francisco. Having now visted both it and LA as an adult, I can say unequivocably that I'm a SF girl. The surf may be better down south, the temperatures warmer but I felt completely at home in the hustle and bustle and culture of the city.

Here are the pics from the trip:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lystrahawk77069/SanFranciscoMarch2009

Masterpiece Theater: Casa Nova (2005)
I want to be clear on which version this is. It does not star Heath Ledger. It stars David Tennant (ya know, The Doctor). It was, well, a masterpiece. It was very well done, engaging, thoughtful yet flirty. The costumes and stages were like visual chocolate. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's easy to see why Russell T. Davies cast David as the 10th Doctor, he's just so darn charasmatic.

The House Bunny
Ok perhaps my expectations were too high because I think Anna Faris is a comedic genius. It wasn't a bad flick per se, it just didn't commit to the funny. It's like Revenge of the Nerds or Sorority Boys, just not as good or well done. It had potential, that's the sad thing.

Burn After Reading
You know I truly love the Coen brothers. But somewhere they missed the boat with this picture. It just wasn't that funny. It had some entertaining moments, just not enough of them. But kudos to George, Frances and Brad for their over the top caricature performances. I mean seriously, they're the only reason I kept watching. 

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
I watched this right after Burn (what, I can't have a Frances McDormand night?) Charming film, excellent energy. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Amy Adams is such a joy on screen; the only other actress that captivates and energizes me more is Kristin Chenoweth and unsurprisingly they both play off Lee Pace wonderfully. Mmmm Lee Pace. A Texan I can swoon over. 

Sex and Death 101
I'll admit I stuck this in my queue solely for the eye candy that is Simon Baker. Turned out to be a fun movie, not great but what you'd expect from a B flick. The premise is sorta hilarious and unique. Mindy Cohn (that's Natalie from The Facts of Life to you over the age of 32) was sooo unexpected and amusing as the assistant; she steals some of Simon's scenes. Sadly Winona Ryder's performance was wooden but luckily she didn't have too large of a part.

Next up in my queue is Season 2 of The Tudors. I can't flipping wait.

Oh and I'm officially in countdown sequence for Battlestar. 11 days, I can hold out for 11 more days, surely?

Christmas Eve we opened presents at my parents' house and had dinner. Mom got me a new windshield for the Blazer (desperately needed and since it was the fourth one in the 10 yrs I've had the car; I hadn't felt all that urgent about forking out another $200 myself). Dad got me Iron Man on DVD and an Oral B electric toothbrush that I'd picked out. Micah got me a beautiful silver celtic knot bracelet. Jenni got me Dr. Horrible on DVD and a manicure set. My nails are now a wonderful festive candy cane red. It was a semi-light Christmas... we'd intentionally made Disney our big expenditure of the year although we did surprise Jenni with a new laptop (thank you HP employee purchase program) and Mom with a 14k white gold charm bracelet. I baked a honey glazed ham, red velvet cake and 2 pecan pies. Mom made deviled eggs and broccoli-rice-cheese casserole. It was a good evening.

Christmas Day we had lunch at Micah/Nana's. Micah made a delicious prime rib. Seriously it was to die for. It was his first time but he'd googled Texas Roadhouse's recipe and it came out perfect. Paired with some mashed potatoes and the leftovers from the night before, it was another delightful meal. Afterwards we played a couple of games of Alhambra and Collosseum. I'm happy to report I smoked them in both of the Collosseum runs. Yay me for winning for a change (usually I place right smack in the middle).

Jenni and I did manage to go see Twilight again last Sunday. It was her second viewing and my fifth. What can I say? I enjoy it, I want to spend my consumer dollars on it. I'm personally trying to send a message to the Hollywood execs. This was definitely my "year of the woman" between it, Mamma Mia! and Sex and the City. Helllllo!?! Yes I like Batman movies but I like REAL chick flicks too (not that crappy sentimental predictable rom-com you guys like to pass off as chick flicks).

I don't know how much to share about this next tidbit but I'm being pursued romantically by a 19 year old. I know what you're thinking because I'm thinking the same thing. I've gently broken the news to him that I'm not interested in a relationship. Didn't sway him from his course. I've crassly tried to deter him but he's persistent. He's fun to flirt with but beyond that...   

No New Years Eve plans yet. May stay in and game and drink. Lowkey sounds kinda nice.

The mortuary finally called today with Cordy's remains ready for me to pick-up. Good thing too-- another 2 days and I was going to call the funeral bureau in Sacramento. (That sounds worse than it is. I didn't actually seek out this bureau, it was listed on all of the paperwork I had to sign when I made her arrangements).

On that note of paperwork... One of the odd things I'm struggling with is this "mother" word. It's not an aspect that had a chance to get integrated into my identity. Yet I have all of this paperwork that lists me as a mom.  

I have Mom and Jenni done insofar as Christmas shopping goes. I know what I'm getting Dad, just haven't found the right one yet. I don't know what to get Micah. Hopefully the muse strikes me soon.  

I miss having True Blood to look forward to on Sunday nights and it's only been a week since the finale. I hope they do all of the books as seasons. Even though they made a few deviations, I still enjoyed it. The fourth, Dead to the World, is probably my favorite installment (although books 6 & 7 are nearly as good, I'm a sucker for Quinn as much as Eric.) Oh well, it did inspire the name of our new group for Rock Band 2-- "Merlotte's" with Micah playing lead guitar as Sookie, Jenni drumming as Tara and me on bass as EricNorthman. My throat has still been too iffy to tackle lead singing.

Speaking of television though... if the networks keep to their planned schedules, Friday nights may become a nirvana of sorts:

8:00 on fox: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

9:00 on fox: Dollhouse

10:00 on sci-fi: Battlestar Galactica

Now if we can just convince Fox not to canel the first two...

By the time I escaped that stiffling little room I was a mess. Without knowing movie times and while sobbing I drove 6 blocks in the rain down to the SLO movie theater. As luck would have it Twilight was showing in 15 minutes so I bought my ticket and escaped to the dark comfort of the screening room. I felt so much better afterwards: alive, together, strong. This was my second viewing and I loved it just as much as the first. Perhaps even more.

I suspect Helo will provide the same respite if I need him. That's also a comfort.

I had my post-natal appt with my OB last week. I was dreading that as well but it turned out to be a very positive experience. We went over the pathology and autopsy results. She assured me the infection was not due to anything I did wrong and there wasn't anything I could have done to prevent it. Physically I checked out all fine and when I'm ready, I can try to get pregnant again. My OB is even going to do the inseminations for me in the office so I don't have to re-enact my contortionist feats. Everyone in the medical profession is amazed that I managed to knock myself up without help in the first place.

The one thing that is generating anger for me is the delay in receiving Cordy's remains. The mortuary has had her for 2 weeks now. There have been paperwork issues that have delayed the process. Somehow I don't care, I want her remains with me. The excuses are getting thin and I anticipate losing my temper soon if this situation is not remedied.  

We're not doing Thanksgiving this year. Jenni had 4 wisdom teeth and a cyst removed this morning so she's on liquids and strong drugs all weekend. Mom had throat injections last week for her vocal chord. So turkey day is kind of a bust. I'm sort of relieved-- less stress, less work, less cooking but I'm also sort of confused as to what to do with my time off. Idleness is not good. I bet a third and possibly fourth Twilight trip occurs.