Sometimes It's Just a Week

This has been a week of serious ups and downs.  The weather is weird, we've had no snow, and the work weeks just keep coming with no end in sight.  No snow days, warm weather, and looking at the calendar and seeing that it's just January is sort of discouraging.  I don't know whether to hope for a blizzard that snows school out for a week, or for it to just get warm and stay that way in the hopes that the Powers That Be will give us back our unused built in days once the danger has passed.  So, some doldrums have hit, and while they're not big ones, they are the kind that just linger around and pester. 

The week started off with a Sunday night bedtime viewing of Steel Magnolias, one of my all-time favorites.  Shelby's wedding and veil reminded me of my own big, poufy veil, and a conversation with a family friend inspired me to dig out the wedding album.  I don't keep these out in plain sight normally.  I, of course, laughed at this, then went to bed bawling my eyes out, because no matter how many times Shelby dies and Jack Jr. smacks Weezer, it gets me every single damn time.  Julia Roberts, eat your heart out.

Family stuff is kind of weird, too.  I think my dad is seeing someone, but he's being very shady secretive about it.  The last experiment in dating (see this post) was so awful, he swore we'd never know about it when he decided to see someone else, and I think that's what he's done.  I think I'm okay with it, though...as long as we aren't exposed to her, it doesn't really matter who she is, right?  As long as it's not this.

My sister and I, who are normally best friends, aren't getting along very well either.  She's getting married this summer, and we're miscommunicating quite a bit over details like dress shopping and bachelorette parties.  I'm sure she thinks I'm a huge hosebag and just being difficult for the hell of it, but that's really not it.  She gets her feelings hurt and just shuts down, and I'm caught dealing with her well-meaning friends who are trying to intervene and solve the problem.  But that's a post for another day.  I watched Bridesmaids today, and while it took me a long time to actually decide to keep watching it, my issues are very much at the center of that movie's conflicts...right down to the overblown out-of-town bachelorette party that I can't afford.  But oh well. 

There's been some cool stuff along the way, though, too.  I was honored with the "Brilliant Bulldog" award at school on Friday, and while the prize was just a scratch-off lottery ticket worth nothing, it was nice to be recognized and appreciated.  The kids' cheering that was heard all over the school was enough to make me smile for a while.  I wore a sequined sweater to work and actually avoided looking like a dork or a hooker.  (I think.)  And we had another very successful Drama Club meeting before auditions for our production kick off in a couple of weeks. 

 Andrew earned his 2nd degree yellow belt in his karate class on Wednesday, which was very exciting.  I'm really proud that he's stuck with it and wants to continue to progress.  We were strongly encouraged to take "The Killer" (his instructor's nickname for him) to the state tournament in March, and while I have visions of Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, I think we're going to go. 

JMU basketball season is in full swing...actually, starting into the end of the season.  That's full of ups and downs too, as our team continues to struggle with injuries and a depleted bench.  It's heartbreaking to see those kids out there playing their hearts out (sometimes not very well, but that's a different story) and running into brick walls almost consistently.  But we still go, and I celebrate the victories and the effort.  Plans are in the works to attend the CAA conference again, which coincidentally lines up with the location and weekend of the karate tournament.  Sometimes stuff DOES work out.

 Sometimes our view isn't very good.  :-)

We're into board games as part of our family time lately...well, the boys like to play card games, but I'll stick with the old-fashioned board games that I spent a million hours playing as a kid.  My favorite, and recently purchased Sorry!  was a hit on Friday night after homemade pizza.  While I got my ass kicked for a while...

I finally made it out onto the board.  Mr. Crankypants Six Year-Old, though, took his first trip back to his home base kind of rough. 

 (He's under the table.)

But he finally got over himself, and he proceeded to kick my butt for 2nd place. 

We finished up the week with a trip to Charlottesville for a family gathering...Charlottesville being the center point for people traveling from all over the state.  It was chaotic, and short, but it was nice to see everyone.  We don't see that side of the family enough.  You gotta love the Wood Grill Buffet, though, because where else can you create a dessert like this?

 No, that's not my concoction.  My niece, however, greatly enjoyed it, and when it melted to a thick pile of chocolate goo, she discovered the best way to get the last bits.

Tonight's accomplishments?  Saving the badge of Sheriff Woody, sewing patches on the Karate Kid's gi, and creating a yummy, easy dinner that had Andrew almost licking his plate...okay, licking his fingers that he rubbed across the plate, but same thing.Woody's badge, with its one-sided "buttonholes."  Impossible to sew back on, because there's no way to get a needle through!  Whose bright idea was this?

 Not quite good-as-new, but the best I can manage. 

Dinner...leftover pizza-dough-turned ham and cheese stromboli, and apple slices with my new favorite thing...peanut butter dip!  Like peanut butter pie, only healthier and guilt-free.  Well, until I eat a whole container of it, that is.

And now it's Sunday night once again, my least favorite night of the week.  Grocery lists, laundry, bathtime, harried blog posts while the kid is in the bathtub, and my overwhelming habit of staying up too late watching bad television and starting the week off exhausted.  Oh, and this week?  The added attraction of a Monday-afternoon doctor's appointment.  Whoopee!