November 2009 Round Up

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Click mosaic to biggify, or see my November 2009 Project 365 Posts.

I can't believe this is the first one I have missed since I started doing the round ups in January 2007. I didn't even get notes made during the month, things were so incredibly insane. I'll have to use my blog and Twitter to back me up here.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I genuinely can't think of a thing. I had no time to even contemplate reading.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
Shows were the usual, all in November sweeps mode. Didn't see any new movies, I don't think. I'm telling you, there was just no time! We did introduce Luke to The Pink Panther cartoons, though, and he loves them.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
I spent a tiny bit of Thanksgiving with my grandfather, what portion of it was not spent on the bathroom floor passing a kidney stone. Joy. Much of the rest of the holiday weekend was spent sleeping off the pain meds.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
I can't recall any off the top of my head over a month after the fact. Nothing noted on the blog or on Twitter.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
More than our share! The ENT put Luke on more antibiotics and antihistamines in hopes of avoiding more tubes, my grandfather suffered a serious bleed, grandmother was diagnosed with a recurrence of lung cancer (she's never ever smoked), Luke was throwing up one weekend, DH's grandfather was moved to hospice care, I passed a kidney stone, and I closed Luke's thumb in the car door.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Star Wars in Concert! It was awesome. Luke's first concert of any kind, excellent music, great exhibit accompanying it. I could not have asked for better.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Hey, we actually tried a new recipe at Thanksgiving! One I suggested, and it was good even. Cornbread Dressing from 5 Ingredient Fix. We tweaked it a little, adding some poultry seasoning, using chicken stock instead of water (we also increased the amount a little; this may depend on the cornbread you use), and adding in finely diced celery that we sauteed with the onion. Yummy! Seems like we may have done some other new recipes that weekend, but they escape me 5 weeks after the fact.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
We bought a new pipe to replace the newly leaking one in the Jack & Jill sink in Luke's bathroom.

What were this month's disappointments?
Almost too numerous to name. Extensive expensive plumbing repairs needed, all the illness issues with various grandparents, having to delay the move a week, Home Depot only sending half of our special order toilet, plumbing repair leak causing the basement bathroom ceiling to split open, some school drama with Luke, having our cable shut off twice in two days when I already had major work issues (can't work from home without internet), having to delay Thanksgiving departure, missing most of Thanksgiving and time with my grandfather. There's probably more, but that will do for now.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I've probably said this before, but this month, I really mean it: purely surviving was an accomplishment in and of itself. In addition to all of this, work was not much fun either.

I did manage a single item from the 101 Things list:

67. Get new bedding for our bed. Mom and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I got a beautiful coverlet set for our bed. I thought I had taken a photo of the bed all made up, but I can't find it, and DH is currently sleeping. I will get one to document it for the 101 Things List. Here is the one from the website.

Project 365 did not go so well this month. I think I missed 3 photos, which is my most ever, and I feel like I had more "desperation photos" than usual. As you can see from the above, we had a lot going on. Only one more month. I'm really amazed that I've managed to keep it up all year. Go me!

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?



His own survival was pretty amazing, but he seemed to time his episodes well. For the most part, he chose to misbehave on days when other things were not going on/going wrong. I know we were keeping him up late and whacking out his schedule and dragging him all over creation, plus the usual disruptions of travel and his sensitivity to our own stress (no matter how much you try and shield them, it still seeps through), as well as some trepidation of his own over the move itself (will you take my bed? my toys? etc.).

There was also some school drama that I did not document on the blog (believe it or not, I don't discuss *everything* on here). It turned out okay. In fact, in a conference with his teachers, he got glowing reviews for both intelligence and behavior, but that was an extra couple of stressful days we really could have done without.

He genuinely enjoyed Star Wars in Concert, though. That was the highlight of my month.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Oh good heavens, I surely hope not.

Monthly Round Up courtesy of Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: I've had about enough