DFW

As I mentioned in the post before this, the holidays were quite a whirlwind. But, I got to see a lot of my family, get some rest and visit Tara down in Fort Worth. We had a great time! For NYE, we hung out with her friend Dunn and some other co-workers of hers. We met some very interesting Texans, to say the least. But, we had a good time, even though the weather was surprisingly chilly.

I made Tara go with me to a Moroccan restaurant that I had read about before arriving there. It was called Marrakesh Cafe, located in north Dallas. It was fantastic! We had the spicy cigars and shrimp sharmoula for appetizers. Tara had the chicken kebab, and I had the cornish hen tagine with artichokes and peas. For dessert, we shared the peach bread pudding. I also had the mint tea. It was so good that Tara was convinced she'd have to get popcorn at the movie theater afterwards, but she didn't. Ha!

Other than that, I read outside on the warmer days, worked out and just relaxed. It was very hard returning to work and to the frigid temps, but vacations always have to end at some point, right?

Whirlwind

List most people, the next days will be a whirlwind.
Tomorrow: work and teach class at the Y
Wednesday: work until noon, go to sister's for Xmas dinner and mass
Thursday: drive to Milwaukee and pick up sister's family at airport, then go to the farm for the family Christmas.
Friday: chill at the farm
Saturday: "Bieda" side of the family Christmas party at the Legion in Pulaski
Sunday: Packers game with Tara
Monday: work
Tuesday: work
Wednesday: leave for Texas at 6 am, come back Sunday night

5 Times I Honestly Hate Being Single

1. When you have a party, wedding, some kind of social function, and you have NO ONE to go with you. It's not that I CAN'T go myself, but sometimes I just don't WANT to. I don't want to walk in alone. I don't want to try to find a table to sit at alone. I don't want to have to tell other people over and over that I am there alone. Because I'm usually alone, I've all but mastered the art of striking up conversations with total strangers. But just because I can do it, it doesn't always mean I want to.

2. When I'm having a crappy day. It's just nice to be able to tell someone you didn't have a great day, and then once you tell them, you feel better.

3. When something goes awry in the house. The shower faucet is broken. There is no hot water. The sump pump won't turn off. The sewer is backed up. The furnace isn't running. There's a mouse. It's not like I need a husband or a bf to know how to fix all these things. In fact, I wouldn't care if he were less handy than I, but at least it would be nice to have someone help me figure out what to do or who to call, or to say "don't worry about it" when I start wondering how bad the sitch is.

4. When you see all these ads about getting someone something for Christmas. It's not about the diamond earrings, or that I'm not getting anything like that to open, but the fact that I don't have someone to GIVE something to.

5. When you get a foot of snow and have no one to help you shovel, or when you need a back rub. Enough said.

Waiting

I really hate waiting, and I suck at it. My dad didn't want any of us here today during his surgery, but I didn't care, because I was going to come anyway. I'm keeping mom company more than anything, otherwise she'd be here by herself. When dad told her he didn't want any of the kids "seeing him after surgery," I said, "fine, tell him I'll come see you and not look at him."

He's so stubborn. Wonder where I get it from??

More Stuff

- Just got back from WLA yesterday, and I'm POOPED! I attended some good sessions, but I can honestly say I had WAY more fun outside of the sessions! Got to see and catch up with a lot of people, so that was nice. The only thing I don't like is sitting, sitting, sitting all day, and eating crap, crap, crap.
- Stopped at Trader Joe's on my way back to stock up on two-buck-Chuck (Charles Shaw) wine for my Festivus party. Should be a good time.
- Busy week ahead. Attending the Rotary meeting Tuesday morning, the one that is sponsoring me to Morocco. Have two training workshops, as well as hosting a teen brown bag. Am teaching my normal kickboxing classes, as well as subbing for a strength class on Friday and another kickboxing class on Saturday. And November was supposed to be a not-as-busy month. Right......
- Tomorrow am attending my nephews' joint bday parties, and then going to my other nephew's high school play.
- Next Sunday we are meeting at the farm to help cut, stack, pile wood for mom and dad, and then we'll watch the game and celebrate Bella's (niece) bday. It's dawning on me that mom and dad are starting to get...old. No old really, but that they can't do the things they once did. Maybe it's about time?!? Dad, until lately with his knee, has not shown many signs of slowing down.

Message to my Niece

Stuff

- Dad decided he will have a prostatectomy to remove the cancer in his prostate. I know he has been speaking to his doctor, and he will probably undergo surgery sometime in the next few weeks. He seems in good spirits and more than anything, just wants to get it done. After that, he'll have surgery on his knee (which is how this all started in the first place).

- I have my first team meeting with the Morocco group this Saturday. I haven't met anyone, but I will probably know them all pretty well before we begin our big adventure. After that I'll be working at the Wine and Beer Fund Raiser at Crystal Springs for my friend's library. I get to sell raffle tickets, while sampling wine. Yay!

- Still working out a lot, or trying to. Elizabeth and I still meet with Shaun once a week. I think I'm getting stronger, or at least I better be. I'd really like to drop a good 10 pounds, as I think it would make a big difference in how I feel. I did take the RealAge test again, and my real age is "24." :)

- Attending the WLA Conference next week. Hopefully the conference will start on a high note after Election Day!

- The economy scares the crap out of me. They say every family is a job loss away from foreclosing on their home, and I would be no different. Nothing seems very stable or certain, and most of the world still continues to hate us. (Thank you, W!) At least gas has been going down.

- Where in the heck did October go? I still haven't flipped my September calendar!