Happy November! Things have been hectic the last two weeks, but sit back and relax. I'm going to take a couple of minutes to catch you all up...

So... back on October 22, we went on this really terrific balloon ride. It was very cool. After that slow, quiet ride, things speeded up.

The following Tuesday was Dit's birthday and we spent the evening having dinner with her and Mom. We went to TGIFriday's. Now, if you've ever been there, you know it can be a fun place, or a lame place depending on perspective. Mom, of course, mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday. They like birthdays there.

For a few days out of each year, Dit and I are the same age. This year, the magic number was, *cough* 31. Dit and I each ordered a weak Island Jack drink to mark our special days. What the drink lacked in potency, it made up for in volume. It was one huge drink. We opted to only have one each.

The waitress, bless her heart, brought balloons over and tied them to our wrists. We were given instructions to not take them off. If we did, we would be given more. So, we did as we were told, smiled and exchanged looks through their birthday song and then continued on with our conversation. We had forgotten all about the balloons and were gesturing and talking when suddenly Mom begins laughing at the absurdity of the picture she sees before her. Apparently, she was flashing back to all those times at Farrell's (an ice cream place that used to be located in Woodfield a loooonnnnnggg time ago, that, as far as I could tell, specialized in kid's birthdays. I think they even came out singing accompanied by a big drum) when birthday celebrations with wrist balloons didn't seem quite so ridiculous.

Mom had given me my gift in a decorative bag and suggested that I open it right away. Punkin was getting a little antsy and Mom mentioned that there might be something in the bag to occupy her. I pulled out a small green stuffed bear and handed it to the Punkin. She thought it was great and began playing with it immediately. That is until I pulled out the bigger stuffed green bear. She handed me the smaller one, told me it was mine, and took the big green bear out of my hands. I laughed as I realized I wasn't going to be seeing either green bear again, they were both for Punkin. (And I was right, too. They're both keeping her company in bed as I type this.)

The ups and downs of having PMS at the same time I was turning a year older soon began to take their toll. Anything I had engineered to celebrate my birthday fell completely flat.

Friday night pizza dinner--we ordered from a new place, and as it turns out, it was a not so good place. They were late and the pizza was cruddy.

Dinner with my friend Heather on Saturday--We opted for the closest Gino's East (another pizza place). It wasn't just closed, it was GONE! Plan 'B' turned out to be another local restaurant, but by that time, the wait was around 30-45 minutes. The Punkin was with us, and we bravely decided to try it. When our 45 minutes was up, we found it would be another 10-15 minutes. Just then, she began to get antsy and hungry and overtired, so we left, picked up Arby's and headed home.

Sunday, The Big Day -- Well, Sunday wasn't too bad. I wanted to lay around and veg, but things became rushed and that never happened. Dinner, however, at Billy and Tillie's was VERY, VERY good. There was cake and ice cream, AND I got presents! I now have enough books to keep me reading for pleasure for at least a year, IF I ever find the time to read them, and some really great CD's to listen to while I read! (Thanks guys!!)

Erika arrived at work the next day with flowers, a balloon, and the most awesome 'care package' I've received in a while. It contained bubble bath, wine coolers, a scented candle, and the biggest Hershey's Special Dark bar I've ever seen. I think she's trying to tell me in a subtle way, that I need to make some time for myself. I love that woman.

A day or so later, my throat began feeling scratchy and I quickly realized I would be losing a battle with whatever coughing, hacking scratchy throat virus was going around. I could deal with it during the day, but at night it left me feeling completely exhausted. I had moved the small kitchen TV up to our room and began crashing for the night by 9:30pm. I'd sleep for an hour, wake up and have trouble getting back to sleep for up to two hours after that.

There has also been some Computer Programming Logic classes and homework to deal with, Punkin tantrums, Halloween trick-or-treating, and an increased pace of work to juggle. In and amongst all that, I've managed to snail mail out the latest Three Ring Circus Newsletter, and invitations to Punkin's party to be held in two weeks.

Before I know it, Thanksgiving will be here and then the major Christmas shopping push begins. From this point on in the year, I look forward with tremendous relish to the time I get off of work between Christmas and New Years. Hubby's company typically does not shut down, and Punkin's daycare center is open as well. That means if I'm a good girl and I play my cards right, and if the fates smile down upon me, I'll have about THREE DAYS to myself in a row. Heh... what am I going to do with all that time??

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