The best laid plans...

Well... last week didn't really turn out the way I'd anticipated. Not that it was a bad week - I just didn't accomplish... well... much of anything on my grand list of "things to do."

Tuesday - Nick wasn't able to get to the theater for "Harry Potter" 'cause he had a Session meeting. No worries - Steph & I went to see "Fame" instead. Ate way too much popcorn. The dancing was awesome, but not as dramatic a feature as I'd anticipated, and they tried to focus on too many characters, so the movie only got a C+ from me.

One thing after another led me to not get to the grocery to buy my chicken et al. I was finally on my way to the store Thursday after work when mom called and informed me the Kabos were back in town on their way home to MO (after visiting Erik in DC), and we were all meeting @ Red Lobster for dinner. Right then. So instead of pulling off @ the grocery, I ran home for a quick shower then back out to Red Lobster.

Thankfully, my shower was quick, and their wait to be seated was long - 'cause they'd just sat down when I walked in. Enjoyed quite a nice meal (I think I had shrimp in a lobster butter sauce. Brought my baked potato home. I still need to eat that, actually...) and good conversation with friends. Afterward, I took Nick to Home Depot to pick up some electrical & plumbing fittings to create "Ectogoggles" (or something like that) for his Ghostbusters' costume. He finally finished them last night (11/3) - they are pretty cool, actually.

Then, Friday, when I'd hoped to accomplish car repairs and painting, I met Kabos, Hirsches, and dad @ Bob Evans for breakfast - a breakfast that took over 2 hours. I felt sorta sorry for the waitress - it seemed she was waiting tables, bussing, and (who knows, maybe even cooking) for the entire dining area. I got the caramel apple stuffed hotcakes and brought 2/3 of them home - forgot about those, too... they're probably not good any more. :(

So when I left there, it was already almost noon. I drove out to the Industrial Park to visit the Buick dealer (thought I'd drop in on Nick @ work, too, but he was out driving around to the different stores). The mechanic there said that the AC filter & housing that I'd been recommended to fix the water/sloshing issue wouldn't actually address my problem. Apparently, it's an "upgrade" feature that is only really necessary if one has bad allergies (which I don't), and therefore it wasn't actually "missing" from my car. The Buick mechanic took a look around, listened to my description of the issue, and said most likely the 2 drains on either side of the engine compartment are just clogged w/leaf debris (leaves can get pushed down in there, and then when things dry out they can become like cement, and be even harder to clear out). I just need to have someone take a high-pressure hose to the drains and clear out the clogs (until they actually get dislodged and water runs freely), and it should fix my problem. So... I guess that's what I'll do. No sense spending $150+ for parts that I don't really need. I thanked the Buick mechanic for his time and candor, and headed back home.

At this point, I probably should have started the wall repair/painting routine - but I didn't. Because the Trunk and Treat event at church was cancelled for the evening, Troy & Steph (and Johanna) were coming over to play Rock Band. They were also instructed to wear Halloween costumes. So I spent the next several hours (I'd stopped @ grocer[ies] on the way home; couldn't find a round loaf of pumpernickel to save my life. Went to 3 stores!!) cooking and readying my costume. I made a lovely cheese fondue and a big pan of taco meat.

So guests arrived (I'll post pics when I get them off my memory stick) and we Rocked for ... 5 (?) hours. Everyone finally went home a little after 2am. I was bushed and went straight to bed. Nick apparently forgot he was supposed to take care of more work for the stores, and later told me he didn't turn in 'til after 4. Poor kiddo.

I slept in Saturday until 10. I still felt like the walking dead all day. Spent a good deal of the morning baking cookies for church & the bake sale @ work and doing laundry, and then went to the Kentucky Center to see "Chicago" with Johanna & her family. We ate @ P F Chang's first. It was good, but I was actually sort of disappointed. I've had better Chinese food @ the little take-out place across from Dairy Queen - and it's WAY more food and WAY cheaper. The musical was awesome, though. I was halfway through the first act, thinking "Wow, that guy looks familiar," when I finally got to check the program @ intermission and realized we were treated to the vocal stylings of Kevin Richardson from the Backstreet Boys. He's from Lexington, you know. Quite a pleasant voice (if not as powerful as the "Broadway" trained musicians).

Got home around 10:30 and then spent the next 2 hours baking more cookies for the aforementioned events. Fell exhausted into bed after midnight.

Sunday I stumbled out of bed and into clothes... then Nick informed me I could have slept another hour - Surprise! Daylight Savings Time! Doh!!!!

Took a brief nap after church (still exhausted from Thursday night! Granted, I hadn't had much time to "sleep in" since then, but still. I must be getting old) and headed out to St. Martin of Tours for a choral rehearsal. Mark had asked me to participate in the All Souls' Day service on Monday (before Bach rehearsal). So we sang plainchants and Renaissance motets for the next 2+ hours. I finally had to leave @ 6:15 (rehearsal was supposed to end @ 6) so I could get to IN for bellydancing classes. I was a wee bit late, but not awful. Left Anna's a little before 8 and got home in time to watch Apple-man (as Nick calls him) stumble badly and get eliminated from "The Next Iron Chef" - Hooray! The arrogant little jerk is gone!!

So Monday I brought the remainder of Sunday's cookies and the rest of what I'd baked (I wound up leaving half the dough in the fridge - just not enough time! But I need to bring a dessert to the Smorgasbord Saturday, so all is well) to work for the United Way Bake Sale. We made a little over $90. Woohoo. I realized, though, that I'd had a whole chicken sitting in my fridge since Thursday, and wasn't going to be home until @ least Thursday, again, to cook it... and I don't think I should really keep raw poultry in the fridge that long. So I decided not only did I need time to cook, but I still REALLY needed to catch up on some rest. Therefore, Half Day on Tuesday! :) Had to come in the morning, unfortunately, to learn about what's new with benefit elections for the coming year, but it was soooooo nice to get home before 2pm. I took the briefest of naps (about 20 minutes) and then started hacking away @ my chicken. I am afraid it wasn't the prettiest chicken butchery on record... but I was, for the most part, pleased with my first attempt. I really need to have my knives sharpened, though. A girl could hurt herself on these dull blades.

Nick got home a little late, but in time to enjoy the roasted bird (w/garlic & thyme), a little Stove Top, and some lovely buttered green beans. When we finished our repast, we headed out to Village 8 and FINALLY saw "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." It was quite good, and I'm so happy to finally be "caught up" with the movies. Can't wait for the last one(s)!

I doubt I'll get any walls repaired/painted this week, either, 'cause of the Smorgasbord Saturday... but I'm gonna take off next Friday (the 13th). Nick's already agreed to help me drop off my car @ KT's (they're going to fix the rear window they broke, and hopefully fix my drainage/sloshing issues) - but I'm not going to stick around and wait this time, so hopefully I can get stuff done @ home while they're working. And I don't know of any other weekend plans, so it could be quite productive.

Here's hoping.