Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Visiting the Folks, The Final Day

* Up at 6am.  Shoot me.

* Shower, complete the packing, load up Queeny (the Hyundai Veracruz).

* Off to the airport.  A three hour drive.

* I make the mistake of checking my voicemail once I'm actually in cell range.  Without completely bitching, the call is regarding Kayleigh and her Rainbow Girls group and a planning issue.  Which pisses me off because my vacation isn't even officially over and I'm already troubleshooting and dealing with crap from home.  Which I am not ready for.

* I text the caller back and ask her to call Todd because I am traveling and can't deal with it.  Then I call Todd, and warn him that he'll be receiving a call about Rainbow Girls stuff.

* I board the plane from Pittsburg to Newark.  Tiny puddle jumper.  I freakin' hate these flights.

* Land in Newark and have THREE FREAKIN' HOURS to kill.  So I plop my butt down at Gallergher's, have a BLT and half a bottle of Coppola Merlot.  When I'm done eating, I relocate to the bar and finish my bottle.  And am entertained by the New Yorker bartenders.

* I call my friend Julie and ask if she's free that night.  Apparently, the flight I'm about to board is oversold, so I'm already making preparations to stay in Newark overnight, should I be offered a voucher to give up my seat.  Julie is free.  I tell her I'll call her if I can't get on my flight.

* I get on my flight!

* And I end up sitting by the most amazing woman.  We'll call her Kat.  She and her husband spoke French together, but she would turn to me and chat in English.  They're from Montreal, and flying to Seattle for a conference.  They'll be in town for a week, what should they do?

* We eventually need pen and paper.  I am full of ideas.  I also give Kat my business card and tell her to call me if she has any questions or would like to do lunch.  She gets very excited and said she will.

* Finally, after six hours, we land in Seattle.  I show Kat and her husband to baggage claim, and then part ways.  But still promise to meet up next week.

* Todd picks me up, we get home and the kids demand attention.  Tom doesn't ignore me.  Life is good.  And I am tired.

**********

Again, no pic.  Sorry.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 7

* Up at 9am.  Because I feel guilty.  I hate that.

* Coffee, breakfast, fluff hair, wash face, get dressed.  And we're off!

* Take stuff back to K-Mart, buy more stuff.  I carry around a cute hoody top that's an XXL, but then realize it's way too big.  I put it back.

* Over to Wal-Mart to finally buy mom a netbook.  She had a little Android tablet with a keyboard that was supposed to be just fine for surfing the net and emailing while dad was on her computer, but it just wasn't cutting it.  Now she has a pretty little blue Acer netbook that even has Skype so she can show me all the new stuff she buys and does to the house.

* Setting that up took most of the afternoon, then it was time for dinner.  Steak.  Because my fascination with the baby cows has already dissipated.  Apparently.

* And then there's clean up and packing and painting my nails and having daddy dig the splinter out of my thumb (farm injury) and now Dancing with the Stars.  Gawd help me, I'm enjoying it.

* Okay, enough of the reality stuff.  I need to go to bed.  Oy.

* Call my honey, curl up, sweet dreams.

**********

No pic of the day because I suck.


Monday, May 14, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 6

* I finally climb out of bed at 10am.  I'm exhausted.  Road trip and crying equals wiped out.

* Coffee.  It's futile.

* Maybe a shower will help.

* Nope.  But I make myself be productive while mom runs to the store.  I dust.  Whee.

* I snooze in mom's hummer of a recliner while she updates the menu that she makes for the Goody Basket, a little lunch shop in town.  It makes me happy that she's doing little jobs around town.  She also helped my cousin frame some photographs that she sells in The Goody Basket, and she's made some really pretty walking sticks for a few people.

* Once she finishes the menus, we all watching Finding Nemo.  Mom snoozes through the first 45 minutes of it, but then perks up and actually laughs toward the end.

* My uncle Paul arrives for dinner.  Grilled chicken, canned green beans, potato salad and rolls.  Yum.

* Have a good visit with Paul, then it's time for nighttime TV - Dancing with the Stars and now, The Bachelorette.  This is the only part of visiting the folks that ain't for me.  But I blog and make snarky comments with mom so we're still bonding.

* Todd just called.  He and Kayleigh are attending a play tonight, so he wanted to get the phone call done early.  And now I think I'm hungry.  Might need a snack.

* Ice cream is a good snack.

* And now it's time for bed.  I listen to The Civil Wars as I drift off.  Sigh...

**********

Pic of the day:

Sorry.  I got nuthin.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 5

* Up at 9am.  It's time to leave the farm and go home.  Sniff.

* One last trip out to see the cows.  One "lady in waiting" is still waiting.  She's been laying down for two days now, trying to give birth.  Janie swears she's okay, but I still feel bad for her.

* Time to shower and pack up.

* And we're off.  But before we head home, we go by my aunt's and meet up with some cousins.  Then we caravan to Shoney's for Mother's Day lunch.  It's absolutely maddening.  Oodles of people and a waitress who, I swear on my shoes, looks like she's going to literally die at any moment.  The food, and free Mother's Day dessert is yummy, though, as well as getting to see my cousins again.

* We finally hit the road at almost 3pm.  Which puts us back at Pisswilly Ranch at 6:30pm because we have to stop to pick up the pizza that dad called in, only he called the wrong pizza place so the pizza place we stopped at didn't have the order but we were already there, so we just place the order and wait while dad calls the other place and cancels the order.

* Home, eat, change into jammies.  Oy.  I am pooped.

* Dad and I have a nice chat on the porch.  He talks about his paratrooper days and dropping into Iran.  He also tells me about the French woman who followed him from country to country.  My daddy, the hottie.

* I call it quits at 9pm and go to bed.  But I can't sleep so I try to call Todd again.  And again, I get voicemail.  I had called earlier and gotten voicemail, so I just left a quick message to say love you, don't call back, I'm going to bed.  But now I really want to talk to him.  I call Kayleigh.  I get voicemail.  I call Todd's mom because I know they went to Bellingham today, so maybe they're still there and he just doesn't have his phone on.  Nope.  They left at 5pm.  Okay fine.  I call Tyler and am in tears.  Are they home yet?!  Tyler goes into the house, and yes, they're home.  Holy shit, what a freakin' panic attack.  Guess I really love my husband, huh?

* Well, now my nose is stuffed up and my head hurts from crying so hard, so I can't sleep.  Instead, I pull out the picture box and go through old pictures.  I realize exactly how much weight I've gained.  Crap.

* At 12:30, I'm finally ready for bed.

**********

Pic of the day:

Bye, bye cows!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 4

* Up at 8:30am.  It's a beautiful day on the farm!

* Breakfast, coffee, shower, and off to camp.  Camp is actually a very large, handmade cabin in the middle of nowhere.  Gorgeous.

* At camp, I walk down to the swimming hole and we have lunch, then sight see on the way back to the farm.

* Once back at the farm, Diane and I walk the farm and say hi to the cows.  I learn how the baler works, how the bulls are castrated, why the mama cows all head to the gate at the same time every day.

* And I pet the calves!  And the big mama cows!  They have very snotty noses.  And bulging eyes.  But so sweet!  When we walk up to the gate, they get curious and walk over to sniff at us.

* I pet the dog, Katie, and the two outdoor cats.

* Time to get ready for the alumni banquet.  Shower again (cow snot), doll up and put on my dress.

* And the hot ladies are off!

* The alumni banquet is...frustrating.  Not enough seats, not enough servers, bad food, no alcohol.  Just shoot me.  And while I love the elderly, they tend to tell the exact same 45 minute stories every year.  Oy.

* Finally, we escape.  Back to the farm to have a glass of wine, watch my wedding video, look at wedding photos, and blog.

* But first, we must wrangle a calf back into the pen.  Diane and Janie wrangle, I make sure the three other calves don't get out.  Mama cow is not happy that her baby is out.

* Mission accomplished.  I am a cowgirl.

* Finish up the blog, call my sweetie and, at 1am, go to bed.  Whew.

**********

Pic(s) of the day:

Eating asparagus, straight out of the garden, at camp

Brand new calf!

Curious cows

Hotties

Friday, May 11, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 3

* Up early.  Yuck.  8:30am.

* At 10:30am, my cousin Diane arrives and we take off for Lewisburg.  It's mom's 50 year alumni banquet.  They do this every year on Mother's Day.  I've been to a couple in the past.  It's so much fun to see mom revert to a teenager.

* I sleep most of the way.  Too many turns.  Makes my tummy icky.

* After a mere three hours, we arrive at my aunt's house to say a quick hi and eat homemade apple turnovers.  Then we're on to mom's friend Janie's dairy farm, where we will be staying for two nights.  I'm itching to pet a cow.

* Janie's farm, excuse me - organic dairy farm - is the real deal.  Big tractors, barns, hay, moo cows, manuere. The whole thing.

* We sit and visit for a bit while I give Janie her first manicure. 

* Time to get ready and go to the class of 1962's 50th reunion.  We visit with mom's high school classmates.  All of them are such sweethearts.  I sing "Amazing Grace" with the preacher's wife.

* Lots and lots of photos.  Gawd bless my cousin Diane and her shutterfly addiction.

* On the way home, we make a quick stop at the Exxon to have the "wino" (me) buy a bottle of the West Virginia wine and try it out.  I also buy a bottle of Barefoot Moscato for mom to try.  I have yet to find a wine sweet enough for her.  I haven't resorted to port yet.

* Back at Janie's, mom tries the Moscato and actually likes it.  After the third sip.  And after asking if it's okay to drink wine after taking her pain pill.  She pours a glass.  Janie likes the Riesling (mom tried it, didn't like it) and rather than open my own bottle (I know!) I have a glass of the Mascato.  Not my favorite, but it'll do.

* I call my sweetie.

* Mom states, once her glass is empty, "You know, that wine ain't half bad.  I think I might have another glass."  And so she does (although she will swear up and down the next day that she only had a half a glass).

* Janie, mom, Diane and I share stories and photos and laugh until we're red in the face.

* Around midnight, and after her second glass of wine, mom declares it's bedtime.  We say goodnight and I crawl into a freakin' HUGE handmade bed that even Todd could stretch out in.  I am in love.

**********

Pic(s) of the day:

Janie's first manicure

Kate, posing.

Singing "Amazing Grace"

Slumber party, with wine.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 2

* Slept until about 9:30am.

* Coffee, English muffin, Live with Kelly.  I think I might kind of like the show.  Could just be my environment.

* Time to clean up.  Get pretty.

* Mom runs off to the store and I clean her shower stall.  We got some Oxy Kaboom that just eats through the soap scum on the shower doors.  I take a toothbrush to the track and get all that pink crap out.  I wipe around the top lip of the surround, I scrub the walls and polish up the fixtures.  Oh, and I get absolutely soaked in the process.  So that's fun.

* I rest my eyes.  Cause I've worked hard.

* Time for lunch!  Ham sandwich.

* Bonding with mom.  A little computer help.  Pretty easy stuff this time.  Except the new tablet, complete with keyboard, is proving to be a piece of crap.  So there's talk of buying a netbook before I leave.

* Car ride up the cemetery to say hi to granny.  No stopping at the creek.  No other visiting.  Just granny.  On the ride home, mom decides she needs her bangs cut.  So we head to her salon so Sabrina can trim her up for the alumni banquet that we're attending this weekend.

* Back home, a little snoozing, then time for dinner!  Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, apple sauces and Ellen on the TV.

* I honestly cannot remember what we did after dinner.  I'm gonna say nap.

* "American Idol" elimination show.  Holly is outta here.  Good riddance.

* A little HGTV.  "Selling LA."  I both love and hate this show.  My goodness, the houses!  But they never make a decision.  The ending is always "So and so is still looking for a house" or "So and so decided they weren't ready to buy".   Well, then why make a damn show about it?  I need closure!

* Time to call my honey and bed down.  Sweet, sweet bed.

**********

Pic(s) of the day:

Blurry pic, but mom is smiling.  And that's rare.

Me, exercising.  Kind of.  Not really.  But it makes them laugh.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Visiting the Folks, Day 1

* Wake up at 8:30am after sleeping like a rock.  Wonderful.

* Coffee, with a twist.  Mom ran out of milk.  But vanilla ice cream works just as well.

* Get dressed, do my hair, brush my teeth, then we're off!

* K-Mart, Wal-Mart, sewing store, post office, grocery store and Burger King for lunch.  They bring you mints to your table at BK now.  Very fancy.  I didn't eat the mint though.

* Back home to sit on the porch and watch the rain.  It's been raining off and on since I got here.  The high is about 65.  I love it.

* Snooze in the big recliner while watching a Lifetime movie.  Oddly riveting.  With Ally Sheedy.

* Dinnertime!  Hot dogs, coleslaw, beans and sweet tea.  Welcome to the country.

* On to the couch to snooze a little more.

* American Idol and Survivor.  I hate these shows.  But I root for Phillip.  He does an amazing cover of "Volcano" by Damien Rice.  Holy cow.

* Cake time!  Spice with caramel frosting.  Yum.

* Shows are over.  Time for bed.  But first, a phone call to my hubby.  Miss him.

**********

Pic of the day:

Snoozing with Goober





Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Visiting the Folks

It's that time of year again.  Time to head to West Virginia to be a country bumpkin for a week. 

However, this particular trip wasn't so great.  Got to the airport just fine.  Got my bag checked just fine.  And then came security. 

SeaTac now only has two options for the security line - x-ray or pat down.  I worked in a Radiology department.  I know not to go through the x-ray.  So I opted out and got the pat down.  Which, honestly, wasn't a big deal.  The young girl was cool, so I chatted with her and made some jokes.  I got to the gate fine, but my seat got changed.  I was very happy in the back row, against the window, but for whatever reason, I was moved to the seventh row.  Right behind first class.

And the seat was wet.  WTF?  I told the attendant, and she apologized profusely.  They switched out the cushion, but couldn't do anything about the sticky floor.  Apparently, a little girl that was sitting there spilled apple juice.  I guess it could have been worse.

I didn't sleep at all on the red-eye, which is odd for me, so by the time I got to Chicago at 5:45am, I was nauseous.  I ate a little breakfast, had a little coffee, then hopped on the puddle jumper to Pittsburgh.  And, boy howdy, was it a rough ride.  Dark clouds and turbulence the whole time.  Oy.

So, obviously, I wasn't looking too good by the time I met my folks in Pitt. 

But here we are at 7:30pm and I'm satiated and showered and feeling a bit better.  I also slipped a nap in there, so that helped.

Tomorrow is a run to Elkins (Wal-Mart, Kroger, K-Mart) and then some computer assistance.  I haven't looked at my to-do list yet, but mom assures me it isn't as bad as in the past.