A Day of Remembrance, The Day The British Rose Died

I remember it quite well.  I was sitting in the sunroom where we lived on Wachusett Ave in Arlington Heights while my mom was finishing up her Jane Fonda aerobics video.  She shut off the VCR and before she could shut off the TV, we heard the News anchor cut in that Princess Diana had died.  My mom froze and I got off the couch, moving closer to the TV.  I don't remember what the information was at the time other than she had been in a car accident and had died after being in surgery for 4 hours in a Paris hospital.  It was after midnight our time.  My mom called out, "They killed her!"  I'm not sure who she meant.  The royal family?  The paparazzi?

It's been 18 years, and still, every August 30th and 31st, the media drags out the story.  As if Prince William and Prince Harry needed a reminder that this is when their mother died.  She was 36.  I am 35.  That's just scary.  Of course, she married young and had children young, so the idea that she had two young teens at my age is possible, even though I can't imagine it.

I read an article on People.com this week about her and why she went to Paris with Dodi.  They didn't portray him very well, and said that Diana wasn't serious about him.  That she never would have entered something serious without consideration of how it affected her two boys.  Well, they got that part right at least.  If only she had worn a seatbelt.  If only the driver hadn't been drunk.  If only the paparazzi weren't chasing them.  If only...

My First Panic Attack

In 8th Grade I was the Set Director for the School Musical, a family friendly version of Once Upon A Mattress.  As a gift for all my hard work, I was given a Cast t-shirt with the title "Set Director" scrolled on the back.  I loved it.  It made me feel so special.

I was leaving school late on one of the last days of school, and I started walking across the upper field to take the path through the woods, which was actually forbidden because apparently drug deals took place in the woods there, but I was tired and it was the fastest way home.  I had gotten maybe ten feet onto the field when I saw a massive dog, a mutt that must have been at least part Saint Bernard.  It saw me and began galloping towards me.  I made the fatal mistake of taking a step back.  It took that as a sign I was going to fight, or something.  It reached forward and grabbed my precious shirt with its mouth, tearing it.  Then it lunged forward again, this time sinking it's teeth into my left thigh, just above my knee.

By this time the owner (dogwalker?) had caught up and grabbed the dog by the collar, pulling it away and smacking it on the head.  She asked me if I wanted to come over to her house to get cleaned up.  No way in hell was I going anywhere with that beast from Hell.  I shook my head, unable to talk.  Here's what I should have done.  I should have turned around and gone back into the school.  I should have asked if the monster was current on all its shots.  But I didn't.

I walked as fast as I could across the field and up through the trees.  I couldn't breathe.  I got to the top.  I would never make it home without breathing.  I thought about turning left and going to Sam Thrope's house.  But what if he wasn't home?  I'd never met his parents.  And I couldn't breathe.  The world was spinning.  I had to get home.  I crossed Gray Street and stumbled onto Oakland Ave.  Maybe I could knock on someone's door and they would let me call my mother.  I couldn't breathe.  How could I talk.  I got to Park Ave.  I was almost home.  I began to breathe.  The monster was far behind.  It wasn't following me.  A few more blocks and I was home.  I told my mother what had happened and she called 911.

The police officer showed up a short time later.  He got angry with me when I told him I didn't think to ask if it had been vaccinated for rabies.  I tried to explain that I couldn't talk, couldn't think.  He told us they would look for the dog, but in the meantime, I would have to get rabies shots.  The officer left and my mother called Harvard Vanguard, which back then was still Harvard Community Health Plan or Harvard Pilgrim, something like that.  They told my mother they could squeeze me in and I wouldn't have to go to the ER.

Upon arrival at my Pediatrician's Office, she informed me that rabies shots no longer had to be delivered in the stomach.  However, the first one would need to be delivered in the bite itself and one in the butt.  Then every other week for eight weeks in the arm.  She put the needle in the bite and couldn't get all the liquid in, so she took it out partway, re-positioned it, and put it back in.  It hurt.  I was so embarrassed about the shot in my butt.  It was my first that I remember.

The Police and my mom looked for the dog, but the owner must have changed where she took the dog because she did not return to that field for the next few weeks.  I got my shots.  Years later, I saw the dog in a different part of Arlington Heights.  I started to panic until I saw it was on a leash.  I was on my way to High School and just kept walking.  I never saw the dog after that.

Whatever Happened To The Victoria's Secret I Used To Know And Love?

This blogpost is about Classic Lingerie.  If that makes you blush, perhaps you should move on.

Whatever happened to the Victoria's Secret I used to know and love?  I haven't been able to fit into their clothing in like 15 years but for fun, I thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane.  I used to wear these satin bras and matching panty sets, and I had some satin nightgowns.  I went to the website and was appalled.  They no longer carry the bras I used to wear.  Nothing even close.  So I move on to the sexy sleepwear.  Whoa!  A little too sexy for me!  I like the classic slip like style, but these were all lace and slits and peekabo this and that.  Which is totally fine if you're looking for a sexy romp with your significant other.  But when I shopped at Victoria's Secret, I was in High School.  Now, they have the PINK line intended for college students, which is a little more toned down.  But I want to know what happened to the classic basic sexy looks.  Did they go out of style?  Or did Victoria's Secret go in a completely different direction in the last 15 years?

I suppose 15 years is a long time.  It's hard to find bras that make a plus size woman feel sexy.  I get all of mine at Lane Bryant's Cacique shop.  They're not satin, but they fit well, they look good, and usually they come in fun colors.  The price can vary depending on the style and the deal at the time.  But I've looked at other places and not only are the bras completely ugly, but they cost an arm and a leg!

As for sleep wear, I get my PJ pants at Walmart for $8 a pop and wear it with a $3 tank top.  Why waste money on a $50 sleep set from a department store?  I wish I could find a fun satin nightgown to wear in the summer (not a sexy one, I like satin for the way it feels)  but I can't find one that isn't skanky.  Or affordable.

A Simple Day

Last night I was so tired I shut my computer down, took my pills, and shut off my lamp at 8:30 pm.  By 9 pm I was asleep.  After such a long day yesterday, it was most welcome.

Today is Thursday.  I had no doctor's appointments to go to, nobody scheduled to come by my apartment.  I could just stay home and relax.  I did some dishes.  I got my husband breakfast.  Soon I'll make us dinner.

Tomorrow I have to schedule our medical transportation for next week.  The cleaners are coming sometime in the late morning.  I have to figure out how I'm going to get groceries for the next week when I don't get Foodstamps til Tuesday and my mom can't really come up on Tuesday.

Oh, and my husband has to get an EKG done at the hospital before his surgery, so we have to figure out if he can take medical transport for that or if we need to take the bus.

I need to renew my paintings for sale on Etsy, but I think I might wait to do that.  It's not like they're hot ticket items.

This weekend the MSPCA is waiving adoption fees for all adult cats over 1 year old.  I know I can't afford a cat, and a cat would probably kill the guinea pigs, but they are cute still, and one day I would like a cat.

An Early Start To The Day

Today the alarm went off at 6:45.  I hit snooze and fell back asleep.  8 minutes later it angrily went off again.  I grumbled and woke my husband up and we got dressed.  My ride on Wednesday mornings has been known to show up as early as 7:20 so I wanted to be sure we were ready.  We got dressed and headed outside to wait by 7:25.  When the ride hadn't shown up by 7:45, I called the transportation company and was told that they were told my appointment was at 10:30 with a return time of 10:30 which makes no sense.  We went back inside, it being clear we were going to miss our 3 appointments.  At 8:00 I called my insurance company who said, yes they recorded the time as an 8:30 appointment, but yes, they told the transportation company 10:30.  I said thanks for nothing and told them that if I got charged for missing the appointments, they were going to call and get it sorted out.

A lovely start to my day.

I checked my email and went on Twitter and Facebook as I always do.  A reporter and photographer were shot live on television this morning in Virginia.  That's just awful.

Today is Chris Pine's 35th birthday.  I had no idea he was my age.  I don't know if I thought he was older or younger.  It's also Melissa McCarthy's birthday.  Her new line of clothing is coming out soon.  It includes plus sizes, but it's incredibly expensive!

Oh, and it's National Dog Day!  So if you've got a dog, give him or her an extra special hug today!  I saw a Dachshund at the MSPCA Nevins Farms location that is really cute.  He's four years old but needs a little training in his behavior.  Hmmm.  We can't get a dog anyway, but boy is he cute!

Tales of Gall Bladders Gone

About 13 or 14 years ago, my friend Courtney called me up on a Saturday morning and said she didn't feel well, could I drive her to Urgent Care in Somerville?  I said of course I would and off we went.  While at Urgent Care she was sick to her stomach and it was green.  The doctor she saw suspected it might be her gall bladder, so off we went to Mount Auburn Hospital to the Emergency Department in Cambridge.  Sure enough she had a "sickly" gall bladder and would have to have emergency surgery the next morning to remove it.  We called her family but they wouldn't be able to get there until after the surgery so I said I would be back first thing in the morning and would be there until her family arrived.  I did just that.

Then in 2005 I began to have abdominal pain, nothing like anything I had experienced before.  I went to the ER, also Mount Auburn, and they told me I had Gall Stones.  The attack passed and I was set up with a surgeon by my doctor to have my gall bladder removed.  The Saturday before the scheduled Surgery, I woke up at about 4:30 am and called my mother to take me to the ER as I was in too much pain to drive myself.  I got there and the pain was so bad I was screaming.  They shot me up with more pain medicine while my mom looked on helplessly.  Then my dad showed up at about 8 am as my mom had called him.  I apologized for waking him up so early on a Saturday.  He said he had already been up.  Then he told me that my step-mother's mother had passed away that morning.  I cried in my drugged out state, as she was a very nice, kind lady.  The next morning I had emergency surgery.  Courtney came to visit and ended up driving me home.  We had to go to two different CVS's because the first 24 hour CVS was out of Percocet.  I got home at about 1 am.

Two years ago my husband had horrible abdominal pain.  I took him to Newton Wellesley Hospital.  They did a CT Scan and sure enough, found Gall stones.  The attack wasn't severe enough for them to do emergency surgery so we followed up with his PCP.  He wanted my husband to go see a surgeon but with my husband working, and the expensive copays and parking at the hospital, we never really got around to it.  The last several months he has been having mild to moderate abdominal pain with some nausea, so we went to our new PCP and she ordered an ultrasound.  Sure enough he still had gall stones.  So today we saw a surgeon and in 3 weeks he is getting his gall bladder removed.

A Typical Saturday

Today is Saturday, my day for running errands.  My step-father has been taking us mostly because my mom has needed to do schoolwork as she was a teacher.  Well she's retired now, so she's going to start taking us, but today my step-father took us.  We went tot he Burlington Mall first.  Two weeks ago I dropped off my engagement ring at the jewelry store because I had smacked my hand against something and bent a prong.  The ring has six prongs, so the diamond didn't fall out (thank God), but I didn't want to take any chances.  So the ring was ready and I picked it up today.  Then at a different jewelry store we picked up my husband's wedding band which had been resized.  He went down a whole ring size which is great!  We're not really sure how he's losing weight, but it's great that he is.  The best thing about all of this?  We didn't have to pay for any of it.  When we bought the jewelry, we bought the lifetime protection plan, for a fraction of the price resizing, redipping, and repairing is.  Which is quite handy.  I highly recommend it with any fine jewelry.

Then we went to Market Basket for a few items, CVS for a few items, and returned home.  We were only gone a couple of hours.  I put the milk and eggs in the fridge, and took the rats and mice out of the freezer to thaw so we can feed the snakes tonight.

When my mom starts to drive us, she's going to take us during the week so the stores won't be so crowded.  We will have to co-ordinate that with doctor's appointments and such.  It gets overwhelming, having 3-4 appointments a week.  I'm not going back to the dentist to get my last 3 fillings until I'm done with physical therapy because it's just two many appointments a week and I'm burnt out.  Maybe I can get my mom to take me to the dentist on a day she takes us out to run errands and then I won't have to take the bus.  That might make it more manageable.

It was supposed to be a rainy, stormy day here in Massachusetts, but so far it's just cloudy.  I could use a thunderstorm.  There was one yesterday morning.  The Natick Commuter Rail Station was under water.  I'm glad I don't need to commute through there.

We used my Handicap Placard today.  Jason's back was so bad he had to use his TENS machine and his cane.  If my ankle's not too bad, or if Jason's back isn't too bad, we don't use it, because exercise is good for us, but recently his back is so bad we need it all the time.

The Ghosts Of Old Loves Past

Where does fantasy end and cheating begin?  I write stories, fictional novels, in which a character loosely based on me goes through all sorts of adventures, but always falls in love with characters loosely based on hot celebrities.  Is that cheating?  I call it fantasy.

But what if the imagination starts thinking about scenarios involving real people from the past, people that one really knows.  Is that still fantasy?

I love my husband.  But that doesn't mean I can't have fond memories of my ex-boyfriends.  For instance, I will always remember one magical night of just walking through Quincy Market in Boston, hand in hand on a cold November night with my new boyfriend.  The Christmas lights were already up and it was just beautiful.  I think that memory is fresh in my mind because recently I've been talking to that ex-boyfriend's best friend on Facebook Chat, as we are now friends.  So naturally a lot of old memories and feelings have come up.  That doesn't mean I love my husband any less.  On the contrary, that ex-boyfriend couldn't handle my mental illness (at least I think that's why he dumped me), whereas my husband is patient with me, and helps me get the professional help I need.

I don't love anybody the way I love my husband, but there are a small handful of people who will always hold a special place in my heart.

Locked In Dream Land For 24 Hours

Dreams can be frightening and they can be stressful.  Sometimes I am trapped in them and forced to live out the horror.  I slept for nearly 24 hours the other night.  The dreams that followed were long and tedious, but some parts were especially bad or eerily prophetic.

Part of the dream involved two of my ex-boyfriends, Pat and James.  They were both kidnapped and bewitched by a coven of witches who made them invisible and impossible to touch.  I was frantically trying to save them as they were being raped.  Charming, eh?

I died twice in the 24 hour period, once by drowning and once by falling from the top of a staircase into a busy intersection.

I saw my elementary school crush, Pat Allen, whom I am friends with on Facebook, but seldom see updates on.  When I woke up, he had posted that he had been hit by a car while cycling.

I was in a movie which earned me an offer of a billion dollars from Universal Studios, so I called Hugh Laurie who invited me to India as his Valet.  He traveled in a China Cabinet.

The MBTA Trains were obsessed with me and kept chasing me.  Soon the City of Boston was a video game where you had to cross the train tracks of all the subway and commuter lines safely.

There were more bits, but they weren't very interesting.  I woke up, made chicken curry over brown rice, checked Facebook and email, and went back to sleep for 10 hours.  Pretty lame, eh?

University of Toronto, My First Mania

I went to the University of Toronto for a year.  I also got into University of Western Ontario and Northeastern University in Boston.  I picked U of T because it was in a big city, it was a big school (55,000 undergrads), and it was cheap with the US/Canadian exchange rate at the time.  Not to mention the fact it is a bloody great school.

I spent all of high school being shy.  I was depressed and lonely, and didn't know how to interact with people.  When I got to U of T, I was really alone.  My dad dropped me and my things off and left.  I spent the first night wondering if I'd made a terrible mistake.  The first morning I was there, I went to the co-ed bathroom for our floor.  Upon exiting the bathroom stall, I saw a young man brushing his teeth, which startled me, even though I knew it was co-ed.  He introduced himself as Amit, and he was the President of our house, Ferguson House.

My roommate showed up late that date.  She was from South Korea, I forget what her actual name was but her Anglicized named was Kristina.  I didn't realize I'd just met my worst enemy.

As Frosh Week started, we did things as a house and as a College.  I was in University College.  We marched through Downtown Toronto chanting things I can't remember, and we sat down in the busiest intersection in all of Toronto for one full traffic cycle, just to show how rebellious we were.  We also went to a Blue Jays game, and a Booze Cruise.  I met Kate, who was also on the first floor of Ferguson House, and she snuck me a Labatt Blue.  I was 18 and the drinking age in Ontario is 19.

I came out of my shell a little bit and was soon elected the person in charge of the Vacuum Key for Ferguson House, earning me the nickname, "Vacuum Jenn".  I became friends with Bruno, and his friend (who is now his wife) Jacqueline of a neighboring House, Jodi, Julie, Moti, Nick, Kate, and Heather.  Heather I met during Frosh week, I think.  We were eating across from each other and she had her hair covering one of her eyes.  As I got to know her I found out that she had an artificial eye.  She had her eye removed when she was a baby because it was cancerous.  She was an Art student.  I wish I could find her on Facebook, because I'd love to catch up with her, but I can't find her.  I can't find Kate either.  None of us can remember her last name.

As the year progressed, I got less and less sleep.  I wanted to go to bed somewhere between 10 and midnight, which is what I put on my roommate matching form.  Kristina however wanted to talk to her friends all night long on the phone.  I could not sleep.  I didn't realize it at the time, but another reason I couldn't sleep was because I was going manic.  Not just a little hypomanic, but full blown mania.  I thought I was above going to classes, that I could ace them without trying, I thought that I could drink as much as I wanted without any consequences, I spent my money as though there were no limits, I would go out clubbing and dance for hours without stopping.  I talked to EVERYONE.  I would drop by anyone's room if their door was open. I even befriended some of the jocks.  What were their names?  Povi, Andrew, and Patrick?  Now this may sound like typical college student behavior.  You know, first time without parents and such.  I thought I could fly I was so high.  I was lucky I didn't jump off any buildings.

In February, I brought Jodi home with me so she could see Boston.  I was a complete bitch.  If you're reading this Jodi, I'm really really sorry.  I think we went into Boston and Harvard Square once.  I was a bad host.  I was just really agitated.  I babysat the five boys I was a Nanny for in my Senior year of High School while I was home, while the 8 month pregnant mother went out.  Jodi and I had taken the bus.  18 hours of uncomfortable hell is the only way to describe it.  I was just walking into my dorm room with the phone ringing and I answered it.  It was something like midnight.  It was my mother to say that the baby was born and had died.  Katherine was her name and there would be a funeral in a few days.  Well I lost it.  I called my father and begged him to pay for an airplane flight home so I could go to the funeral.  He did after some convincing.  I flew home and the Philbins were so appreciative I was there.  And yes, it is the same Philbins as in Joe Philbin, the Miami Dolphins Head Coach.

That triggered the crash.  I fell from my mania into a pit of despair.  I started cutting myself and after awhile my friends noticed and told the Senior Don (head RA) who got me an appointment with a Psychiatrist the next morning.  I was put on medication and the Dean was notified, who notified my professors, who gave me extensions on my papers.  I squeaked by with grades ranging from C- to B+, which were actually pretty good since I never went to class and barely studied.

The biggest lesson I learned however from my time in Toronto was that Canadians do not like the U.S.  In fact they hate it.  And all I heard, non stop was how evil it was, and how stupid Americans are.  It wore me down and after a year, I decided, along with some health factors, that I did not want to go back.  I am still friends with Jacqueline, Bruno, Jodi, and sort of Julie and Moti, though I don't think they're on Facebook much.

Where To Find Friends?

I have a doctor's appointment at 8:20 am.  My ride is picking me up at 7:40 am.  It is 1:08 am.  If I go to sleep now, I will not wake up in time.  So I guess it's going to be an all-nighter.  My husband is on a backwards schedule.  He goes to bed when the sun rises and sleeps until 5 or 6 in the evening.  I usually go to bed at about 1 and sleep til 3.  I know, I know.  I sleep too much.  It's not healthy.  I get it.  But with all the pills I take it's hard to just sleep 8 hours.

I've been reading the "Strictly Platonic" ads on Craigslist, looking for friends.  Yes, that may seem sad, but all my friends live far away and we have no car.  But even though it says "strictly platonic" it's comprised mostly of horny men looking to hook up or have affairs.  I don't think they know the meaning of the word "platonic".  So since I'm not having any luck there, I'm looking on Meetup.com.  Most of the groups I would be interested in require a car or money, neither of which I have.  Maybe when I can finally afford to have a car, my husband and I can join one of the couples groups.  I saw one that looked like fun.

Tomorrow (later today?) I am seeing my High School Best Friend, the famous Shawn Boyle, MFA.  He is taking me to the 99 Restaurant for my birthday (it was January 11th, but hey, who's keeping track?) and I'm really looking forward to seeing him.  I don't think I've seen him in a year.  Possibly longer than that.

I cut my bangs tonight.  I should not be allowed to cut my own bangs.

They are short and crooked.  And gray.  I wanted to buy hair dye this past weekend but my husband didn't want to spend the money, so gray I will continue to go.  I am only 35.  My Paternal grandmother was white haired by 40, my maternal grandmother was white haired by 45, and my mother was white haired by 50.  I started going gray when I was 13 years old.  I started dying it when I was 15.

I think I shall wear my contacts and makeup tomorrow (today).  I may even wear a hat.  I'm not sure what to do with my hair.  I could leave it in braided pigtails since I'm not going to be sleeping on it.  Oh wait.  My eyes will be super dry because I won't have slept.  Scratch the contacts and makeup.

I can't wait for the Fall.  I miss my sweater dresses.  That sounds silly I know, but I love the way they look and feel.  I have two summer dresses that I really like, but other than that I wear gym shorts and tank tops.  I see dresses on LaneBryant.com that I really want but I can't afford them.  Such an expensive store!

Random Thoughts And Happy Birthday Pat!

I just have some random thoughts at 2 am on this Monday Night/Tuesday Morning.

My mother is going to drive me and my husband to my brother and sister-in-law's house to meet my new nephew.  He was born at the end of January and because we don't have a car, I haven't actually met him.  So now that my mom's retired, she's going to take us.  Yay!  He's a real cutie, judging by the photos I've seen.  At first he looked a lot like his mother, but now I see a lot of my brother in him.

Is hockey back yet?  No?  How about football?  No?  Damn.  Well let's hope those Patrick Kane rape allegations turn out to be false.  And let's hope Brady's suspension gets overturned.

I'm with the Florida news anchor who stormed away from the news desk after saying she was sick of the Kardashian family.  Cheers!

My oil painting of Severus Snape was posted on the Alan Rickman Facebook page as their weekly fan art piece.  It got 165 likes and 4 positive comments.  I'll take that.  I kind of want to do another oil painting but I haven't anywhere to do it without suffocating either myself and my husband, or the piggies and the snakes.  I guess I could try in the kitchen...  Not sure what I would paint though.  Grrr...  Stupid Painter's Block.

The Wedding Photographer who did my wedding, took her family on vacation to her native Honduras, and judging by the pictures, they have had a fantastic time.  I've been to Belize, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, but never Honduras.  It looks beautiful.  But they seemed to eat a lot of fish, which I could do without.  I'm very picky about my food and even more picky about my food from the sea.  I eat salmon, some haddock, scallops, clams, and lobster.

Today is the 35th birthday of my 1st boyfriend.  I dated him in 7th grade.  If you could call it dating.  We went to the movies once.  We saw Forever Young at the Capitol Theater in Arlington, MA.  The rest of the 7 months we were together, we just hung out after school.  We would sit on the bike path by the Grove St bridge.  We kissed once and it was a disaster.  I'll leave it at that.  For our 6 month anniversary, he wrote me a poem and got me a teddy bear, "Fuzzy".  I brought him as my guest to my father and step-mother's wedding.  I'm friends with him on Facebook.  He is happily married with a beautiful daughter.  So Happy Birthday to the first guy who broke my heart!  Ha ha ha.

Pain Tells Us We're Alive

My husband lives his life in pain.  He has chronic lower back pain, and arthritic hips.  He can't walk far, can't carry things, can't lift things, he can't even put his shoes on normally.  So when he tells me that his side has been bothering him, it worries me.  I ask him where?  He shows me his upper right abdomen.  We make an appointment to see the doctor.  She orders an ultrasound and sure enough he has gall stones.  He had gall stones 3 years ago but they haven't bothered him in years.  She put in a referral and we're waiting to be scheduled for an appointment with the surgeon.

That was Tuesday.  While he was getting an ultrasound, I was getting checked out by a nurse practitioner for a UTI.  By the end of Wednesday I was nauseous, having abdominal pain, dizzy, and shaky.  I called Friday and the nurse I spoke to wanted me to go to the ER.;  I declined, stating I was only in a 5 out of 10 on the pain scale, and didn't have a fever.  So she scheduled me for an urgent care appointment for Saturday (today).  This morning I show up and see the doctor.  She listens to what I say, feels around my belly, and starts asking me GI questions instead of Urinary questions.  She learns I have  Diverticulosis, and tells me she's going to send me for a CT Scan.  It ell her I'm not supposed to have any unless it's absolutely necessary.  So instead she sends me to the lab.  When the results come back I have a high White Blood Cell count.  So she said she was going to treat it as Diverticulitis and give me Cipro, the nasty tasting antibiotic that wreaks havoc on your GI bacteria, the good and the bad.  Oh, and I'm on a liquid diet for 2 days.

We finally leave the doctor's office and go to the Burlington Mall to get our wedding rings inspected, repaired, redipped, and resized.  Not all today, some of that needed to be sent out for.  It took forever.  Next was the laundromat followed by the grocery store and CVS.

UGH.

But my husband bought me a dozen red roses to make me feel better.

Turning 35 Can Be Intimidating

But it doesn't have to be.  My husband just turned 35 on Saturday.  For his birthday, we went to the pet store, bought frozen rats for the snakes, went to the grocery store for the first time in a month, and then went home to put the food away.  A few hours later my in-laws took us out to Chili's.  My mother-in-law was very friendly and engaging, while my father-in-law said nothing and stared into space the whole time.  Whatever, I can't be bothered by such nonsense, and neither can my husband.  When we got home, half the rats were thawed out so we fed the snakes.  They were most grateful.

The next day my husband went to Mirabella's Bakery to pick up his cake.  He can't carry it the 1/2 mile home so he brought our shopping cart and taped the box to the bottom of it, wheeling the cake home.  It actually survived pretty well.  Only one side was slightly smushed.

It was a lemon cake with lemon mousse filling and buttercream frosting.

On Monday I had a doctor's appointment.  We then went to the bank, Walmart, and then caught the bus to the other side of our town to go mini-golfing.

We were both really really bad.  I one by 2 strokes.  But we had a lot of fun.  We enjoyed a bottle of water inside after roasting in the 91 degree heat.

Next we walked to the Chinese food restaurant where we had Chinese Buffet for dinner.

While we waited for the bus, we popped into the Dollar Tree and Advance Auto Parts.  Then we headed to the bus...  Which costs a dollar....

Overall I made sure my husband had a great birthday.  Turning 35 doesn't have to be scary at all.  And we had a lot of fun!