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April 17, 2023

purse snack grazing, joining the 21st century, & why am I not in Delaware?

I drafted this (along with my last post, but I split it into 2. Long winded much? Well, in my defense, I was captive for almost  FOUR HOURS) while locked in a freezing little room inside the hospital while it was 78 degrees outside. Ouch.

A little woman, who had to get me a heated blanket because FREEZING temps in there, popped in every 15 minutes and had me breathe into a bag. This test could rule out SIBO, or verify if someone has a future as a balloon animal maker. The nurse, who I noted is NOT the nurse from last week - perhaps that woman requested NOT to deal with the hysterical patient, took a baseline breath test and then had me drink some orange glucose stuff that was the size of a McDonald's dipping sauce for McNuggets . . .

No, I wasn't thinking of food, why do you ask? 

By now you know that I survived the SIBO test. While I waited for the valet to bring my car, did I wait for hours?, no - it just felt that waywhich is where my small cooler was with my DANNON CHERRY GREEK YOGURT, I dug around in my purse and stuffed tiny snacks into my pie hole. 

No test results yet, perhaps I'm supposed to check my portal. Don't get me started.

**********

I made a ridiculous amount of food for Easter. Some habits are hard to break. 

I was grateful for the overflowing sea of leftovers in the various fridges at our home, because I planned to DEVOUR loads after my exercise in starvation SIBO test. BTW our guests were impressed with our dining room fridge.

*my fav movie quote of all time, quite possibly. 
From Wedding Crashers. It makes me giggle EVERY TIME.
Thanks to getyarn. 

On Easter, I shocked everyone and looked like a grown up woman. Welcome to the year 2023. Bronzer is not just for Irish dancers who leg tan- well, you probably already knew that, didn't you?

When Reg and I returned from Milwaukee for his AAU ball weekend days after our Ireland trip, there was a package for me from Ulta. I was confused, and grumpy at being held hostage in Milwaukee much longer than anticipated. My kid barely played on his 'showcase' team, which costs an arm and a leg and requires a HUGE amount of time. This team is not so much showcasing my kid, as it was ticking off his mom (and dad, remotely). Expect elaboration later. 

Anyway, I struggled to open the Ulta bag and the whole time I was asking barking at the kids:  WHO ORDERED SOMETHING FROM ULTA? No one knew what I was talking about and since they don't sell dog toys, I figured Lad wasn't involved. 

Everything clicked when I peeked into the bag. 

Me:  OH MY GOSH. YOU'RE KIDDING ME.

It was a retractable makeup brush - when did this become a thing? And a cute little bronzer with a mirror inside the case. Good-bye grocery store makeup offerings, free tiny blush brushes, and hello to the wide, wide world of real makeup. 

This was a sweet and thoughtful gift from my blog friend, Suz. I was tickled, and not just because Curly leapt into action and applied bronzer to my face on the spot - OH, THAT IS THE PERFECT SHADE FOR YOU. If you missed my makeup post, cry-for-help, then you might be confused about why I didn't know about bronzer. 

I texted Suz to thank her and referenced the rock I've been living under. She agreed, but graciously allowed me to feel blameless in my lack of present day makeup knowledge, citing that many of my people are standing on the rock I've been living under. She's a funny one.

**********

My weekend was pretty chill, making me wish I was in Delaware. 

You:  HUH?

Coach flew there to teach a continuing ed course for the weekend. He asked me to go, ages ago. 

1. I wasn't sure of the basketball schedule. Both kids travel to games out of state. Reg more than Curly, but the schedule wasn't out yet.  

2.  My guess is I passed thinking that Delaware isn't a hot spot for vacationing. When Coach travels to AZ or someplace warm, I'm THERE . . . usually.

Neither kid ended up playing this weekend. Of course not. The weather here was in the low 80's which was fabulously, unseasonably warm, and I couldn't have predicted that. The clincher:  we had flights to go to AZ next weekend and today I cancelled my flight. *sobs softly* I'll explain the reasoning soon.

In the meantime, I drive to Notre Dame tomorrow - Sunday (I'm finishing this post Sat night because Sunday will be hectic). I'm bringing Mini's favorite dessert, Rocky Road Fudge bars. We are taking a page from Kari's playbook, called:  IT'S MY (KID'S) BIRTHDAY MONTH, BITCHES.

Also, I'm gifting the girls the completed photo banner thingies. I hadn't finished the banners by Easter. Preparing our upstairs for overnight guests was back-breaking. Quite literally, and I put the project on pause. Coach worked late Thursday (the night they arrived) and was in Milwaukee Good Friday till Sat night for Curly's games, so I was on my own 'staging' our house, not for sale but to pretend we are a neat and tidy breed. 

*I'm sorry/not sorry that I didn't take a before video. 
This is the boys' room - I bumped Reg to bunk
 in the girl room with Curly, so each of the 3 
college girls had their own bed. 

Between chatting with our guests (favorite activity), making all the Easter food, cleaning house, making dinner for our guests Sat night, driving back and forth to near Midway airport (30 minutes) where Reg 'played' MULTIPLE b-ball games, and having my high school BFF Drew (who I haven't seen for years) come into town and meet me for a drink  - well, the weekend was a blur. 

Anyway, our visit tomorrow is a surprise. I've been communicating with Mini's friend. My mom and Curly are coming along and I'm looking forward to it. 

********

Have you passed up a chance to go out of town and then kicked yourself? (really, I've been out of town -it feels like, more than in town lately, so it's FINE).

Do you have a favorite movie quote? 

Is getting your upstairs ready for out of town guests a daunting task? Or do you just not host out of towners? 


20 comments:

Nicole said...

How sweet of Suz to send you a giftie! That's so nice!
I hope you get results from your test really soon. Enjoy your time with Mini!

Bijoux said...

I’m so glad you got bronzer! It is far superior to blush. Suz is the best! We don’t have put of town guests anymore since my son and his wife moved to the area last May. It was always a rush for me to get the bedroom and bathroom ready.

The only movie quote I think I do is the, “Anyone? Anyone?” from Ferris Buehler’s Day Off. I’m glad your test is over and I sure hope you get some answers soon. Darn those my chart portals! They exasperate me.

Nance said...

How gracious of Suz. Nothing is better than a surprise package from a thoughtful friend.

Our family tosses around so many quotes from movies, mostly Napoleon Dynamite and The Birdcage. I have a BFF who was obsessed with Jaws, and she can quote the entire film. I like getting her tipsy and making her run through speeches. LOL

I'm so glad you made it through your Starvation Test like the warrior you are. Now let's hope you get some answers!

Beth Cotell said...

How thoughtful and kind of Suz!!!!! And she even picked out the perfect shade. I have a hard time getting the shade right for myself, much less a friend that lives miles away from me.

The bedroom looks wonderful. I don't enjoy overnight guests - it stresses me out to have anyone extra in our home - so the fact that you cleaned and cooked and everything else you do on a daily basis is giving me a case of the hives just thinking about it all!

Ally Bean said...

I know what bronzer is and am happy to know you have the PERFECT bronzer courtesy of Suz. I'm always in a tizzy when we have overnight guests, less so now that we have a new working guest bathroom though.

A favorite movie line: “A queen is never late. Everyone else is simply early." Julie Andrews says this in The Princess Diaries and it makes me smile every time.

Life of a Doctor's Wife said...

Oh yay for fun gifts from fun friends!

Guests always stress me the eff out. I'm glad they were fans of your dining room fridge.

My favorite movie quotes are "A schooner is a sailboat, stupidhead" and "Daddy, a watch doesn't go with this outfit."

Kara said...

We hosted 15 for Easter, and realized just before that we only had 12 chairs. Husband went to Walmart and bought folding chairs. The upstairs was a disaster, and I forbade anyone who doesn't live in the house from going up there!

You'll be missing a lovely weekend in Arizona! We're camping, because it's not looking like 100 degrees yet.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat" is frequently said at our house.

Ernie said...

Nicole - It was such a sweet surprise. We had a nice visit with Mini.

Ernie said...

Bijoux - I love Ferris Buelhler. Epic movie. How great that your son moved nearby. Oh my gosh - my upstairs is typically unfit for us, let alone visiting guests. The bronzer is JUST what I needed. I can't believe I bought it for dancing years ago and never realized it was for non-dancers. Hello, McFly!

I had issues 3 of the last 4 nights, so I do hope they come up with an answer. I got my allergy shots today, so I will sleep like the dead tonight at least.

Ernie said...

Nance - It was so thoughtful of her to try to make me current. I love Napoleon Dynamite, although I haven't watched it in years. I saw the Birdcage forever ago, so I don't think I'd know any quotes from that one. I'm laughing at you getting your friend tipsy and then sitting back and watching her recreate the Jaws movie. Starvation was hard, being thristy too? Just plain silly. Answers would be nice.

Ernie said...

Beth - How did she KNOW what shade to get for me? Pretty impressive. She must know her bronzers. It was a fun treat to get that in the mail.

I didn't realize both kids had AAU games the Fri/Sat before Easter. Honestly, the prep for that weekend (both visitors and food) was pure chaos. If someone had followed me with a camera they would've gotten a good chuckle.

That bedroom won't look like that for very long. Guaranteed. But it was so nice that it looked put together and ordered for a few days.

Ernie said...

Ally - I was in a tizzy before these girls arrived - you could say it was a tizzy on steroids. The racing back and forth to near Midway - like 14 miles away, for my kid to not play in his games, well, I was upset. I'm glad it came together and the visiting girls were a lot of fun.

I'm not sure I've ever seen that movie all the way through. That's a good line. As someone who is often running late, I should use that line.

Ernie said...

Suzanne - Gifts from fun friends is definitely a pick me up. I do OK with guests, but the guests who are permitted upstairs? Well, that's tough. Our house is a zoo most of the time, trying to order it and make food and drive to basketball games? That was rough.

You have to tell us what movie those quotes are from. I'm unfamiliar.

Ernie said...

Kara - I feel like I know the line 'WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT', but for the lift of me I can't remember what move it is from.

Of course it was easy to cancel my flight because it was 82 here. Today? It snowed and it was in the 30's. I still think it makes the most budget sense and basketball sense, but dang - I wasn't expecting that.

Short on chairs is never a thing in our house - although some that are pulled up from the basement are quity rickety. Enjoy your camping weekend.

Pat Birnie said...

How sweet of Suz to send you the bronzer, and l, like everyone else am impressed she got the colour right!

Oh I hear you on getting the house/upstairs ready for guests. I had two fewer kids than you but I suspect just as much mess. As I’ve told you before, don’t despair - one day you’ll have a tidy organized home.

What a sweet surprise for Mimi! And I hope you get test results and answers very soon.

Ernie said...

Pat - It's not like she sees me on the daily, so how did she know my skin color? It's nice to have generous friends who are also clever. ;)

These college kids - I swear they will come home and eliminate or claim their things. The closets are up for grabs.

Well, I got the results back from my test today. In the portal, so the doc hasn't weighed in yet. More on Thursday.

Kari said...

I absolutely love it when blogging friends send gifts! LOVE. And you'll look like you've been to the pool year-round. 💕

I also love that you're celebrating Mini's birthday month!! I had no idea she and I had the same birthday month. I'm honored to be able to share it with her. Please give her a hug from me. 😘

Ernie said...

Kari - Right? I enjoy tanning, so how did I not know about this as an option?

Mini is the 12th. We celebrated her on Easter, but forgot to sing. Her friends celebrated her - but she had a big test the day after her b-day, so there was a postponed celebration and then we came to town and celebrated AGAIN. She is definitely getting a birthday month, or at the very least a week, treatment.

Busy Bee Suz said...

"This test could rule out SIBO, or verify if someone has a future as a balloon animal maker."...I died!

All birthdays should come with a MONTH LONG CELEBRATION. I'm just saying...

I love the 'surprise' visit idea and can't wait to hear about it.

The bronzer is the same color I use; I think that brand has only a few and the chick at Ulta sold me on it years ago, so I'm just passing the buck. You are so welcome and it was fun for me to surprise you. :)

Since I don't have so many people living here, I have THREE guest rooms at the ready.

Ernie said...

Suz - This was by far the weirdest test ever. Breathing into a bag? After not drinking anything for forever? Super strange.

With everything going on lately, I might forget to describe the surprise visit. It was fun. She was surprised, then she was like I HAVE A LOT OF STUDYING TO DO . . . I was like, no prob. Let's eat lunch and we will be on our way.

I love that we are twins in the bronzing department. Hooray for Ulta people knowing their stuff. I haven't been there in years. This might be the root of my problem. I order my hair stuff and Curly's online now.

Available guest rooms? In sunny Florida? Hmm. How can we put those to use? ;)