lost today

Today is kinda a loss. Woke up feeling awful with what felt like a very bad headache, mild nausea, a huge sleep deficit, and the desire to spend most of the morning in the bathroom. By 12:30 in the afternoon, I'm already feeling better but just an hour ago, I could not convince myself to be up long enough to take a shower. I called into work and, quite fortunately, the manager on duty, Kimberly, was very reassuring of my decision to call in. This is the month when everyone's hours are cut drastically anyway at work and she assured me that I could easily one sick absence today and to please not come in if there was any chance I might have anything contagious.

Not that I think I have the flu, although some of my coworkers have recently. I think it was just the perfect storm today. MonsterMustDie was working in Atlanta this week and insisted on driving back late Wednesday night instead of staying overnight in there and coming home the next day. Thus, he got home just after midnight. I had to work at 4:45 a.m. on Thursday for store inventory and one excited cat roused me just enough to get up, have some water, and even though I was already in bed when he came into the house and did not acknowledge his presence I never could go back to a deep sleep before my alarm woke me at 3:30 a.m.

While having to be up and at work so early, I did not make coffee before running out the door. I had one cup (which I did not finish) from the keurig machine at work on break - they provided free coffee and muffins for those on inventory duty - and didn't have any more that day. I am currently on a four-cup-a-day habit at home.

After work, I was starving. MonsterMustDie was taking half a day off work to rest from the trip and both of us met Karen at a Chinese buffet in Greensboro. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The restaurant seemed clean and it was cheap and we filled up there. By the early evening, when I wanted to be in bed, I was still too wound up from the day so I had what was probably too much hot sake.

So extreme sleep deficit + greasy, large quantities of questionable food + hot sake + my existing winter cold = very ill morning.

Now, I've had a cup of coffee and am brewing a fresh pot. I also had a bowl of ramen soup (the last in the pantry). I think after two more cups of coffee and some solid food I'll be at least in good enough shape to do housework meander around. I plan for this to be a recovery weekend for the entire household.

Christmas and New Years

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve this year were spent with Karen and Bob at their house in Greensboro, again with neighbors, friends, and family. Their living room this year displayed a new grand piano and an enormous Christmas tree. The tree was bigger than they imagined it would be when they bought it still bundled up tight. It opened up over the holidays as wide as it was tall but it was glorious.

The Christmas eve tradition at their house is Bob taking command of the kitchen and making fresh pizza. Everyone got half of a large pizza with the toppings of their choice. I brought marion berry pie and my own holiday traditional snacks of butterscotch haystack cookies and ruffles potatoe chips with French onion dip, just like my grandmother Crowe always served on Christmas eve (although she always made cake rather than pie).

Christmas day was just spent quietly at home with MonsterMustDie. We opened gifts and ate leftovers.

New Year's eve was a potluck followed by fireworks in the street at midnight. They had gone to South Carolina to buy the good stuff to bring back to welcome the New Year.

New Year's day, MonsterMustDie cooked blackeyed peas and kale, which we had with rice in front of the TV.