#41 - Fast Paced Days = Slow Motion Monday

The past several days have been nonstop for our family. Last Thursday, my oldest daughter came into town and we three girls (me and my two daughters) went wedding dress shopping since my oldest is engaged. It was an exciting, long day.


My oldest, Heather, in one of the wedding dresses.
My problem as Mother-of-the-Bride is...I think she is
beautiful in every one of them!


The following day, Friday, we had lunch with my husband in downtown Houston at a nice Thai restaurant. My previous blog has the photos of that fun outing. After lunch, I went to the Dr. with my oldest to check for possible cracked ribs she suspected, yes, they were cracked/broken. It was stressful to see the Dr. press on her ribs and it cause her to yell out in pain with tears to follow. She was suffering during the entire visit, but she remained determined to continue onward with our activities. Gee...I wonder where she got that determined, headstrong attitude?

That late afternoon, Heather (my oldest) and I dined together at Classic Cafe in the Kemah area --- a waterfront community where you can find mega-yachts or one-person sailing vessels. Such an interesting place. Her and I shared a delicious seafood platter since she was heading back to her little town near Fort Worth that evening. The small town she currently lives in is far away from all the fresh, incredible seafood that she loves so much. She savored her clam chowder, the goat cheese and tomato bruschetta and our main shared dish of crab cakes, almond fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, butterflied fried shrimp and the BEST honey-mustard sauce ever invented. It was indulgent. We had to bring home THREE boxes of leftovers. Meanwhile, my youngest had left for Mardis-Gras weekend in Louisiana. Did I mention that my family is always on-the-go????

Heather on the ranch, from City-Girl to Country-Girl, she can handle both worlds.

After dinner, I filled my daughter's Dodge Durango with gas, then, at home I helped her bring all of her belongings downstairs to her vehicle and load Tux, her Australian Shepherd (a Blue-Merle) into the passenger seat. As she was leaving, my in-laws drove up for their visit in town. They had called to see if we had room at the "inn" and we knew our daughters would both be gone by Friday afternoon, so come-on-down!!! I rushed around changing more linens and I ushered the mom-in-law and dad-in-law into their room upstairs for the weekend. I've noticed that the kicker with having a large house is having constant company, which is fine with me.



Tux trying to "herd" Heather. He is truly her best-friend. Tux
travels with Heather and WILL defend her fiercely. Of course,
she's capable of doing some protecting herself...very skilled young lady.
Whoever said dog is "man's" best-friend?

 Luckily, I am friends with my mother-in-law. I've known her since I was a child, so she is truly "family" to me in every sense. The next day, Saturday, my husband and father-in-law went to the "Fishing Show" in Houston's downtown area while my mother-in-law and I ran her errands together. The last errand included buying T-Bone steaks for dinner. My husband had just brought home his latest toy, a huge BBQ pit. Did I mention that this pit was LARGE???? Bad part of this day was...the guys didn't call, they didn't remember the women-folk waiting back home as they enjoyed their man-day in a world of all-things-fishing-related. You would think they've both been married long enough to know that this was a definite no-no.

The Big Bad BBQ Machine

My downstairs living room - yes, we live in Texas.



My upstairs gameroom, gathering room...with a PS3 and a poker table.
Young and old can find a fun game to play here.

 Boy, as the long day faded into night, my mother-in-law slowly grew fangs and long claws. Both grew sharper as the time ticked by. The man-victims were unaware that a wild animal was wearing my mother-in-law's skin and as the unsuspecting guys showed up near 9pm, all excited about their purchases, I knew she was about to pounce. Actually, I found it all to be rather humorous, but my mother-in-law was not to be humored...her husband and son walked through the back-door and she proceeded to launch into a rampage, complete with sailor's language. This near 70-year old woman became a entity to be feared.

No fangs or claws on this day.

Fortunately, we all knew this was her way of saying, "I love you darling and was so very worried about your well being after too much time had passed without hearing from you." No, instead, it came out, "You old S.O.B., not even one F&%$ing phone call to let me know how your worthless A$$ was doing!"

Okayyyyyy. My mother-in-law is educated with a Master's Degree, a former Principal in Houston, working for the school district for over 30 years, but she doesn't take ANY bull from her husband or from her kids (which includes three sons). She expects top consideration or ELSE. Saturday night, we got to hear the "else." Yes, we still had our T-Bone steak dinner past 9pm. Augh! My husband and I NEVER eat a meal this late, but you can bet we did on this night. Mother-in-law ruled the roost. Maybe this wasn't the best way for an Addisonian to spend a Saturday night. Ha Ha.

Side-note: The reason I don't watch soap operas is because my LIFE is a soap opera!!

Sunday, all day, my husband and father-in-law finished up the remaining woodwork needed in our house since it had been destroyed and renovated after Hurricane Ike. The formal dining desperately lacked portions of crown molding, chair railing and baseboards. The guys replaced it all. The curved stairway needed lots of woodwork as well and they worked all day, tirelessly, to put it back together, perfectly. As they worked, they kept the doors in the house opened, both front and back. The house became very cold, the house stayed in the 60's and I do not do well in cold weather. Yes, I am an authentic Texan and this is BONE-CHILLING-COLD temperature to me. Okay, I can feel you guys from up North or from Europe rolling your eyes. We do have a fierce wind chill factor with humidity and that can feel like a bath of ice-cold water, not pleasant.

No matter what I did, I could not get warm. Living close to the coastline, strong winds blow cold air continuously through the house and I felt miserable. I bundled up, but it didn't help. I wouldn't dare say anything because the guys were moving so fast in and out of the house with large pieces of wood to the machinery stationed outside each door for another cut. I knew it wasn't practical to ask for the doors to stay shut and they were working hard which meant they were sweating. Plus, I was thankful my woodwork was finally being finished. So, I spent the day in a state of shivering. I made lunch and we four took time to sit at the table and eat with the doors closed, but it ended too soon, the guys were eager to get back on track with the doors wide open again. Truthfully, I think my husband kept finding a new area that needed tweaking because he was also trying to protect his dad from having to be alone in the car for too long with his mom. Maybe she wasn't quite finished with her rant from the night before.

It's always humorous to me because my mother-in-law is so loud and boistrous and bossy (I mean this lovingly), yet my husband married me...a woman who has great difficulty raising her voice. My kids tease me about how I never yelled, but I surely kept them in line with a "mad-momma-expression." Saturday night, after my mother-in-law yelled and cussed out her husband, I was so proud of my husband when he said, "Mother, you could communicate more effectively if you just would state that you were worried and the cell phone being turned off made you extremely frustrated. Instead, you just wasted a lot of negative energy and accomplished nothing."

So, now it's Monday and all of the above has led to this day finding me completely tuckered. My body feels like jello, even with extra meds. I am just worn out. The last couple of days found me unable to sleep well either because I kept texting with my Mardi-Gras daughter through the night, as if this would magically protect her from creepers. A mother's sense of duty never ends. If she weren't 20, I'd have forbade her from going. I made my feelings known about it, but she and a pile of friends had their plans cemented. Thankfully, she came back home late Sunday evening intact with two large bags full of Mardi Gras beads that we weighed in at over 11 pounds. Proudly, she declared, I am not a flasher, but people sure do seem to like my smiling face!! She cracks us all up with her wit.

She told us that she NEVER wanted to go back for another Mardi-Gras because the crowd nearly crushed her to death, it was truly so stifling and jam-packed that she had trouble breathing. She is so tiny that the crowd engulfed her and even her face was pushed into the backs of the people in front of her. She had been terrified. All the people they'd gone with had been separated and they couldn't find each other, so they immediately exited the crowds and left the scene. She said that it is something she never wants to be a part of again. Music to my over-protective Mother's Ears! At least she's 20 years old and has had the experience one time. I am GRATEFUL that she found it to be an unpleasant experience because we live close enough to know all the ugly truths and dangers of Mardi-Gras in New Orleans. At least she has a momento of 11 pounds of shiney beads!

My youngest, Stefie, with half the
Mardis Gras beads on.

So, today I will be chilling. My schedule is blocked for NOTHING. My body needs down-time and I am listening to its silent, yet powerful signals. However, I am seriously glad to have spent the past few days in a whirlwind of activities. Everyone is gone today. My in-laws left early this morning, my husband went to work, my youngest went to work, my oldest went back to her small town on Friday evening and I am here resting with the dogs. At least everyone is gone today so I can re-charge and get leveled out with more double dosing. Tomorrow, I bet I'll be as good as new!!!