November 2008 Round Up

Blinkie by: Jo's Blinkie Obsession (no longer active)

Monthly Round Up idea borrowed from Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Hey, guess what? I read a book! Well, finished a book that I started last month. But still! It was pretty good. Can't rave about it, but I enjoyed it. The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber. The more I read, the more I am convinced that I have a clear preference for female writers. There are a few exceptions, but generally speaking, that is the case. I also started The Eight, by Katherine Neville. Interesting, but not loving it.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
Just the usual. Don't recall anything new in the television department. Did see Bolt and liked it.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Thanksgiving. Lots of travel, lots of family, lots (and lots and lots) of food. The usual (of late, as we were formerly famous for going out to eat for Thanksgiving) home lunch with my grandfather, and an unexpected chance to have a pre-Thanksgiving pizza dinner with my uncle and his family (and his wife's parents, who are just lovely people). Put up the tree at my parents' for the first time in 4 years as well. They have a 6-foot tree that rotates; Luke will think ours is so small and boring by comparison when we ever get it up (not yet).

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Um, uh, er....

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
This is my punishment for typing things up in advance. Originally, I had written "We all kept trying really hard to get sick, but we managed with just a few coughs and sniffles." Then DH decided to go and run a fever the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I thought he felt awfully warm in bed that night; given that he usually radiates cold, you can see why that was a key indicator. But he insisted he felt fine. Ha! He was on fire by Wednesday morning. Got him some antibiotics, and he finally started feeling better by Saturday, just in time for me to start feeling poorly. I ran a low-grade fever for about a week in the middle of the month, but other than fever-related fatigue, I felt fine. Still, it probably knocked my immune system down a notch or two. I now have a few sniffles combined with serious sneezing (could be allergies, I suppose) and a bit of a dry cough (unlikely to be allergies, alas), but I can already feel the wheezing in my chest. Not good.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
We bumped into Ginny and Justin (and Riley) at Olive Garden around mid-month. They invited us to join them, and we did. It was so great to see them! I forget how much I miss my friends until I see them again. I also got a last minute invite to dinner with my friend Erica (better known in the BB world as Moira), who I probably had not seen in 5 years (maybe more). It was awesome to catch up!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
We tried Ted's Montana Grill in downtown Atlanta, and being that they are famous for serving bison, we both tried it. I was very disappointed in the bison chopped steak. The texture was just really really off. The garlic mashed potatoes were exceptional, and the green beans were crunchy, which I don't care for. DH got the bison pot roast, which was very good. So it's not that I don't like bison, I just didn't care for it in chopped steak form.

Our work team lunch for November was at Smokejack BBQ in Alpharetta. I'm not even a big BBQ fan, and I thought it was great! Long drive from here, but very very yummy. And a new food court place opened at the mall called Baja Bistro. For some reason, that makes me think more of "goofy Hollywood food" (organic, raw, macro, etc) than anything, but it is actually quite good "Mexican" food (and I use quotes because I'm sure there is nothing remotely authentic about the quesadillas or the taco salad). I think I'm addicted to the quesadillas!

Also tried some new brownies at Thanksgiving, made by my chef wannabe brother. Did we try anything else new? I really feel like we did, but nothing is coming to mind.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
DH took me to see Titanic Aquatic. I was actually disappointed in it. Titanic The Exhibition that I saw about 18 months ago at the Civic Center was far superior. Maybe I'll actually write it up this time.

What were this month's disappointments?
Watching one project fall farther and farther behind. Very frustrating.

What were my accomplishments this month?
We finished all of our assigned projects for the year at work! Whew. Still a few that may yet finish early, which would be nice.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?
His speech is getting noticeably better all of the sudden. Not sure why, but not complaining. Feel like there were some other things, but nothing is coming to me at the moment. Did I mention he can now write his name? (It's after 3 AM, and I didn't pre-write this far down or even make notes. Give me a break here!) I also witnessed an awesome act of generosity by my son, which sincerely touched my heart.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
The Democrats won the Obama vs. Palin history battle. That's about all that comes to mind.

Currently feeling: thankful