Another Busy Week

Ran a bunch of errands on Mon and Tues but really got nothing accomplished. Don’t ‘ya hate when that happens?

Wednesday, Cassie and I visited Betsy at Lancaster Manor after work.

Thursday a girlfriend and her hubby were in town from Las Vegas - Kathy’s oldest daughter was getting married in Omaha. Cassie and I met Jim and Kathi at Tico’s for supper, and her other daughter, Loray, Loray’s son Robbie, and her boyfriend were able to join us as well. Cassie ran out of gas at 7:30pm so I had to make a short night of it. Got the little girl home and right to bed; she was asleep before I left the room.

Friday I’d originally planned to visit Betsy again. But we’d had such a busy week and we were going to see Betsy on Saturday anyway to get a universal remote and a clock for her room, that I decided at the last minute to skip Friday night. So Cassie and I went to Valentino’s at 70th & Van Dorn for supper.

We like that location best because there are several buffets to chose from, not solely an Italian Buffet like at the Holdrege Street location. We happily helped ourselves to the Kids Buffet (me – I love the corn dogs!), the Pasta Bar, the Salad Bar, the Pizza Bar, the Seafood Bar, the Chinese Bar, the Dessert Bar. I also nabbed for her a purple balloon that we tied to the back of her chair. So we were happily munching along.

Then brother Scott called to say Mom was on her way to the ER at St. E’s. We finished our desserts and headed over. I called Mark and he left his part-time night job to pick up Cassie and put her to bed. I sent Scott home since he’d been up since 3am (he works the early shift at the Target warehouse) and he still needed to eat his supper. So it was just me and Mom all night in the ER. They decided to admit her, and I got home at 1am. Long story short, she had an episode of atrial fibrillation. Meds were adjusted and I was able to take her home on Saturday. Also hit National Pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions.

Then Cassie and I visited Betsy at Lancaster Manor. I got the Universal remote to accept the TV in Betsy’s room (or maybe it's the other way around?), showed her how to use it, and left her a clock. We also ran several errands.

Sunday Cassie and I got donuts from LaMars. After breakfast we hit Best Buy for a new digital camera. My Canon PowerShot A530 died and it was time for a new one. Problem is I just can’t get my head wrapped around all the techie stuff. I don't understand aperture, ISO, resolution, pixels, optical zoom vs digital zoom, so I just buy a camera I can put on Auto. I came home with a Canon PowerShot SD 790 IS Digital ELPH (10 megapixels) on sale. I’m currently reading the manual. Best of all it's a rechargeable camera - no more running through tons of AA batteries.

I also bought Cassie a camera. The little stinker knew how to use my other digital camera so I decided what the heck. The $20 Hannah Montana models or $40 High School Musical things were pieces of crap. So I got her a $70 Insignia (7 megapixels!) in bright pink. She knows how to take a picture, zoom in and out, look at the photos she’s taken, delete what she doesn’t like, and change the batteries (yeah, I'm still buying AA batteries for a camera...sigh). So we’ve had fun taking photos together, and taking photos of each other taking photos of each other.

Also visited Betsy again, checked on Mom, washed the van, went through tons of paperwork, and did lots of laundry.

I had to go to work on Monday just to rest up!

Monday Errands

I was off work on Monday since I worked this past weekend.

After taking Cassie to school I returned home and loaded Eli into a cat carrier and took him to the vet for his annual appointment. Long story short, I was able to get him into the box without a fight, he hollered only while in the van, his blood work and stool samples tested disease- and parasite-free, he received his 1-yr distemper and 3-yr rabies vaccinations, the vet was pleased with how he looks, he weighs 11.5 lbs, and when we arrived home, Eli seemed very pleased to be back. The look in his eyes, when I unloaded him in the living room and gave him an early lunch, told me that he thought he had been headed to another home. He's been even more attentive than normal so I think he's thrilled to be here.

After dropping Eli to home, I hit the Health Dept and got his cat license. I stopped at Verizon and Alltel to inquire about their cell service and phones (my current cell phone is turning itself off, so time for a new phone and I think time to upgrade our cell service). Hit the post office. Picked up Mom and took her to the cemetery (Monday would have been Dad's 71st bday), then took her to Barnes & Noble. We picked up Cassie from school and went to Tico's for supper.

The temp hit low 50's so I had the van washed. Mom and I had good weather at the cemetery, but by the time we picked up Cassie the temps were dropping and it was trying to sprinkle. By the time we left Tico's the weather had definitely changed for the colder and the wind was really blowing.

So much for getting things done around the house. Chores have sat, waiting for me to get over the pneumonia, and I'm eager to get at them. I'm home for most of Tuesday so hopefully I can begin to make a dent on the mess.

Thanksgiving Aftermath

I kept Cassie home from Sunday School as she was coughing up a storm. I did some work on my piles of paper, and wrote on the backs of photos. Also gathered up some laundry and ran a few loads. Mark was sprawled in the easy chair reading the paper.

Cassie had cabin fever and since I was planning to send her to school on Monday, I took her along with me to run a few errands. If nothing else, this got her acclimated to physical activity. We hit the post office, went to Mom's, looked at photo frames at Shopko (she's a great little shopper and found all the sizes I needed but one) and stopped at Taco Inn for lunch.

Deb S. and her hubby, Charlie, met us at Taco Inn to deliver my replacement Tupperware seal and my body glue. I also won the door prize at her open house! Can't wait to use my instant manicure.

Cassie and I headed on to Younkers and Dillards looking for a pasta pot, but couldn't get myself to shell out 120 bucks. Then on to Target, and back home to do four more loads of laundry. I made soup for Cassie and me, changed sheets, got us bathed and jammied and we were in bed snoring away in no time. I was still tired from Thanksgiving preparations.

Cassie's cough seemed worse on Monday so I kept her home again from school. Mark stayed with her this time. When I got home in the evening, I grabbed a quick supper, tossed in a couple more loads of laundry, then got Cassie and me ready for bed and we hopped into the "big bed" with our laptops. Cassie is no longer happy at playing with the surplus keyboard and mouse and pretending she has a laptop, now she asks to borrow mine to email Grma M.

There's something not right about a 5yo able to use the fingerpad and properly move the mouse.

A Full Saturday

Cassie and I were on the go all day.

We left the house at 9:00 and hit the post office to mail an envelope to Paige of Cassie’s kindergarten photo. Then we hit the credit union to get cash for Betsy and some cash for me. Onward to LaMar’s for a big box of donuts that we took with us to Betsy’s. Gave her the cash, a 5x7 of Cassie’s kindergarten photo, and ate our breakfast there.

We headed on to Grma’s and dropped off more kindergarten photos. Cassie wanted to stay and play with Grma for a bit. Then we headed back home to get the checkbook. On to the vet’s to pay a bill then we decided to run by the Quilted Kitty. I got some fat quarters and Cassie chose some cat buttons.

It was past our lunch time and Cassie felt like Tico’s so we headed there to eat. Then we stopped at Office Depot and Target. Finally walked in the door at 3pm.

Cassie and I sorted laundry and tossed in a couple of loads. I made us a quick supper then I busied myself sorting Cassie’s papers into a Memory Box, while she sat next to me coloring and practicing her writing. We also sang “Into the Air Junior Birdman” several times.

Got her bathed and in bed, I showered and hopped into bed with the laptop. Worked on my blog while watching my Friday night timer tape ("Ghost Whisperer" and "Numb3rs"). Finally turned in at 12:30am, but at least I got a lot accomplished.