Feeling Lounge-y

My true desire for today.


I've just accepted a package from the FedEx guy whilst still wearing my pajamas and robe. Somehow it seems like some sort of initiation to full freelancer status.

<><><><><>

Yesterday my whole fam-damily (plus my brother's gf) came over for Thanksgiving dinner. Everybody brought various sides and desserts (my brother brought sweet potatoes with sliced bananas on top instead of marshmallows, which were great and a teensy bit more healthful -- I know, like bailing out a submarine with a teaspoon), and all I had to do was straighten up the house and make the turkey. The house never did get truly cleaned, although I made some attempts and my youngest sister did a TON of work. (Thanks again, Gail!) The turkey turned out great, without a lot of prep or effort. I know, turkeys aren't as much work as people make them out to be (or are they?), but humor me. I cut up some apples and onions and stuffed 'em in, then brushed the outside with garlic-infused olive oil and poured apple juice all over the whole thing, with plenty in the roasting pan. I covered the birdie about two-thirds of the way into cooking, basted it maybe every 20 minutes, and it turned out moist and tasty (prolly from the garlic-olive oil, although there was a hint of apple). I feel like some sorta turkey pro, which is fun because I don't do much cooking. It's nice to feel good at something "grownup," instead of slinging chicken nuggets and grilled cheese sandwiches and carrot sticks day in and day out.

When I was cutting up the onions, my eyes started to sting and water so much that I couldn't even open them to see what I was doing. Tears were literally streaming down my face and I was walking around the kitchen yelling, "OH MY GOD! MY EYES!" It was nice. ;-P My son asked me why my eyes hurt, and I told him it was because of the onions, and he said, "Oh Mommy, I think maybe we got the wrong onions!" Then he said, "Maybe Auntie Gail can do that for you!" He's helpful that way. ;-)

He had a blast playing with all the grownups, as well as with my sister's doggie, who patrolled the kitchen to make sure nothing that fell on the floor went to waste. Next year my son will have Thanksgiving with his dad, so I'll probably go to my parents' house, I suppose. I feel a teensy bit sad about not having my son for EVERY holiday EVERY year, but I also feel a sense of relief now that the holiday schedule is legal, and his dad and I don't have to discuss holiday arrangements every time a holiday comes up. Used to be that my son's dad got some holidays by default because they fell on weekends, and back then he had our son every weekend. I never had my son for Easter, for instance. Or any weekends, obviously. Now it's more balanced.

The last time my family was mostly together at my place was in January, at my son's birthday party. His dad was there, too. This time it was fun just hanging out with my family and being around my own stuff, and not having to drive anywhere. Just the same, thank goodness for SigAlert.com (my sister's recommendation), which allowed me to give traffic advice to my family as they drove down to my house. I felt like some sort of dispatcher (?), calling people and telling them which roads looked clear, etc. I think that helped them avoid some major traffic areas.

After everyone left, my son and I were still sorta wired, so we unwound by watching the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special on TV. Dunno if anyone remembers this. Oddly, he squealed with glee when Snoopy got stuck in the ping-pong table, but was quite uncomfortable and wary when Snoopy kicked the recalcitrant beach chair and it came to life and kicked him back and chased him all over the yard. That was scary for the kid...but perversely amusing for me. ;-) Must write that down: getting smashed by tables = good; vengeful chairs = bad. Maybe it'll come in handy sometime.

The noise was tremendous here yesterday, which was nice. It's very quiet today, which is nice, too. My son is at his dad's house today (and most of tomorrow), so I plan to work and regroup. I have a project coming in later today that has to be turned around by the end of tomorrow. I'm a tad uncomfortable doing another rush job for this client when I haven't been paid yet for the prior rush project, but I believe they'll pay, so I'm taking the risk.

My coffee is cold, so I must reheat. Life is returning to normal.