Well I successfully survived another birthday! (Just barely!). Friday was my actually birthday and I was supposed to spend it putting on a girl scout fundraiser dance for my troop. However, due to a lot of other conflicting activities, we did not get enough participants, so we had to cancel. Better for me in some ways. I did not have to spend the day popping popcorn in my air popper(which the kids think is an antique from my college days). Nor did I have to bake cookies for snacks or buy juicey juice boxes. Instead, Tom was home from work and he took me out to the movies. After my yearly medical physical in the morning of course. I am happy to report I am as healthy as a horse and I am also the proud recipient of the H1N1 flu vaccination. They had some doses left at my medical clinic and being a health care worker I am higher on the list. I actually think I had less of a reaction from this shot then the regular flu vaccination. Although I got awful itchy that night. Scott is scheduled to have his vaccination at school this week for H1N1. He doesn't mind shots. But Allison is terrified of shots and declined the offer at school. I do plan on having an echocardiogram though to check for heart murmurs. My mom had to have a heart valve replacement last year, and now my uncle Joe(her younger brother) has to have the same operation, so I just want to see what my odds are since it seems to be running in the family.
Anyhow, besides that everything looks good. So Tom and I went off to see the destruction of the world as we know it in the movie 2012. We mostly went to see John Cusak. But now I know that I will be very healthy when the world ends in two more years. So besides being absolutely impossible, it was an overall enjoyable movie.
But it was long! I had just enough time to run to school and pick up Scott and run home and pick up Allison and get them both to the dentist. Scott had his annual cleaning and Allison had two tiny cavities to fill(her first). They were so small she did not even get novacaine. So I don't think they count.
Then I had to run and pick up something for dinner for Allison's end of the year Field Hockey party. So if we had a girl scout event, we would have missed the dinner. Instead, the whole family went off to one of the player's house(very nice finished basement) which fit all 20 girls and their parents and siblings. The girls got pins and certificates and their field hockey clothing they ordered during the season. The varsity team managed to win county but lost the first game in State. Allison will start as goalie in Indoor field hockey in January with her teammates. Good way to stay in shape.
When we got home I had time to open my presents but we were saving the cake for Sunday night. Tom got me a very nice dress watch and tickets to see Young Frankenstein in January. I also got a pedometer to see how far Cookie and I walk.
Saturday started out early with a trip out to western Maryland just past Frederick with Scott and the cub scouts. We helped plant over 500 trees and shrubs along the Catoctin river to help establish trout beds and protect the nearby park from washing away along the river bank. Fortunately the Save the Bay foundation members had already dug all the holes. We just had to place the trees in the holes, fill them with dirt, stake them and cover the tubes with netting to keep birds from building nests inside the tubes that cover the small trees. Scott loved playing in the woods and the river most of all. And getting very muddy with his boots. The boys even had their picture taken for the local newspaper. I was especially happy it had stopped raining since hurricane Ida went through and we had about 4 days of non stop rain.
I had just enough time to run home and repack my car to set up for a girl scout cookie booth sale at the grocery store. We spent a few hours selling cookies, and then it was home again to shower and go out to a concert and dinner(for my birthday). We heard a local band-electric guitar, bass guitar and drums-a bit rock and blues. The bass player used to be in the jazz group Spyro Gyra for 14 years. The concerts are put on by a local fund raising group and are held in an old stone barn turned into a church. Not alot of space so very cozy. The old stalls in the basement have been turned into offices, complete with the sliding stable doors. We have been going to concerts there for several years. They only have 3 more left this season. The best part is they serve snacks and dessert and play for 3 hours! Long day.
Sunday I was up getting the kids homwork done so I could set up another cookie booth sale in the afternoon. We managed to sell all our cookies we ordered for booth sales-about 160 boxes. People were actually buying cases of cookies! That is a first! Sunday night we decided to go out to dinner as a family. We enjoyed our local Japanese steak house and came home for Birthday cake with our neighbors that went to the concert with us on Saturday night. I even got a present from them. And thanks for sending the card Mom and Dad Seitz. It pays to get old! Mom Bozyk I got your box-thanks so much. Scott and I had fun opening all the little pacakges.
So I did an awful lot on my birthday weekend, except I ran out of time for a haircut! I just had enough time left to pick up Scott's cub scout popcorn, order a cake from Sams Club for an open house scheduled at work this week, and attend my neighbors jewelry party. She makes pieces herself and collects stones from all over the world for her necklaces and bracelets, earrings and rings. Allison had a coupon from a neighbor to buy a piece of jewelry as a graduation present, so we both picked something out for ourselves.
Allison and I actually started off the busy weekend by singing with the girl scout choir at the Green Carpet event on Thursday night. They hold the event each year to honor the girls with the top selling cookie count. This year it was at the Children's museum in Baltimore. The best thing about singing is not paying to get in and eating all the delicious food. They invite different chefs from around Baltimore to come out and cook something using girl scout cookies as an ingredient. The desserts are always wonderful, but the main meals can be interesting. Allison and I were not excited about the shrimp on the lemon chalet cookie with wasabi and melted white chocolate sauce. Nor did I like the crab salad on the shortbread cookie. I may try to make the 7 layer cookie and the chocolate tart though as they post the recipes on the girl scout web site. The only thing missing this year was the guest host Duff Goldman from Ace of CAkes on the Food Network He hosted the last two years and always makes phenomenal looking cakes. The first year the Food Network people showed up and filmed an episode for his show and Allison was on tv. But this year he was off selling his new book. Maybe next year.
And the kids both finished up their first semester of school. Overall they did well with A's and B's, but no slowing down as there are lots of tests and projects before the holidays.
Looks like we will be staying home for Thanksgiving and probably sharing our holiday with the neighbors. Scott has his birthday the day after Thanksgiving, but we are waiting to celebrate with his friends the first week in December.
Tom and I will probably spend our time getting the house organized for Mom and Dad Seitzs visit early in December. Tom also has been busy installing our new french doors and extra lighting in the old garage space. The doors really look terrific and open up the whole space-lots of extra light too. And it will be nice to close the door when the kids are in the room playing video games or watching their movies. I also talked him into adding some lighting. He still needs to run the wiring and then close up all the holes in the wall and ceiling from the leaks he fixed. Hope they stay fixed!
Good luck with your holiday shopping and cooking! Kathleen and Family