Oops

So I ordered this super-cute dress from Dorothy Perkins to wear to DH's work party.  I've never ordered from that site before, but they were running a sale when I ordered and  the price was worth the risk that the dress wouldn't fit.

It finally showed up today, and I ripped open the package and immediately went to try it on, half expecting it to be too small. Woohoo--it fits!!!

Except that it is REALLY short.  Like slutty short.  Like barely covering my girlie bits better make sure I get a wax before wearing short and don't sit or bend EVER short.

Of course, the measurements were provided on the website, but I didn't bother to  check the length.  It didn't look short on the mannequin, and since at 5'4" I'm on the shorter side, even dresses that look short on tall, slender models are usually ok for me.

So am I going to return it?

No. Even though I think I'm a bit too old to wear a dress this short.  But my legs are among my better assets, and the rest of the dress is conservative enough to offset the slutty shortness, I think. I will add black hose instead of going bare-legged, as was my original intent, though.

The quality was also better than expected for the price.  To get free shipping I threw in a pair of earrings and this cute little sweater, which also seems like decent quality for the price.

My Babies are Growing Up

So TT came to me last night and said that she really wanted to start shaving her legs. This kind of surprised me, since she's my tomboy.  I would have expected her girlie-girl twin to ask first. But as TT pointed out, she does wear shorts a lot. (The child practically lives in soccer shorts. She's always hot, and it was still in the 80's here this week. And she does have really hairy legs.)  Also, I kind of had to push PS to start shaving when she entered 7th grade, because I was afraid the other kids would make fun of her. (I was shaving well before 7th grade, but I remember skipping a week or so and then wearing a skirt and catching hell from a couple of asshole boys.)

I think I started shaving the summer before 5th grade, so this seems about right for TT.  I bought her an electric shaver, like I did for her older sister.  It works well enough for now, and she was excited about trying this new big girl thing. I can hear the shaver whirring away as I type. 

I'm sure SS will want to jump on the hairless bandwagon now that TT has started.  But Target only had one shaver on the shelf, so she'll have to wait a few days until I can get to the store again.

Poor girls, they don't realize that they've just set themselves up for a lifetime of shaving and stubble.

Meanwhile, I am seriously considering laser hair removal for my face.  I swear, I'm turning into a man with a full beard and I can barely keep up with the waxing and depilatories. And believe me, fair skin and dark hair is not a good combination.

Turkey Day

So I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year, for the first time since 2006 when  I was still in law school and my mother-in-law was still alive. I love Thanksgiving and generally love to host, but I've had some concerns about it causing more stress this year since there has been so much going on.

FIL and his wife are coming to town.  I have to admit I was more than a little relieved when I learned they would be staying in a hotel.  And I just learned that SIL and her family will be coming down Black Friday. It's been a while since we saw them, and we're looking forward to hanging out with our adorable little nephews.

Fortunately, the new housekeeper is working out great, and she will be here the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving to make sure the house is company ready.  Having someone to maintain the chaos in the house has been a HUGE stress reliever. It's so much easier to relax in a clean house.

Local family is coming, too, so it looks like we will have 12 for dinner.  A reasonably sized crowd, although we have had about double that before. I've already bought my turkey and all of my nonperishables, and I've been testing out new recipes. I'm going to try brining the turkey this year, and then using my regular recipe.  I've never brined before, but I keep hearing that it's the best way to get a moist turkey. I guess we'll see.

And today I bought tickets for the Nutcracker for the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  I have never seen it performed live. Every year I say I'm going to take the girls, but we never make it.  But I got an email today with a great deal on tickets to see a well-regarded production company at our beautiful new opera house.  I'm so excited!  It will be so much fun to get all dressed up and have a girls day out. (DH didn't have much interest in going with us.) It will be a lovely way to wrap up our Thanksgiving weekend.

Listamania: Things I love about my kids

1) They are funny. I had no idea how much I would laugh once I had kids.  When they were little, they made me laugh with silly little kid antics.  Now that all have witty, deadpan senses of humor.

2) They are good kids.  They are well-behaved and  people like them. I always get compliments from their teachers.

3) They are kind. They will stick up for someone who has been wronged. And they aren't mean girls-they are nice even to the kids who irritate them. I think the twins would be classified as popular. Of course, being a twin brings built-in popularity.  EVERYWHERE we go we hear "Hi SS, Hi TT!!!"

4) They like to hang out with their family.  I guess this surprises me, because I was always hiding in my room with a book.  But they love it when we have family movie nights or game nights.  And often, we are all hanging out in the same room, even if it means that we are all on different computers with a tv blaring in the background. I love being lumped together on the couch like a pile of puppies!

5) Each is her own person.  PS won't do anything just because someone else is doing it. She could not care less that every other kid in her school lives in their Abercrombie shirts and Toms shoes. And the twins may look exactly alike, but their personalities are completely different. It is very clear which twin takes after me and which one takes after DH.  One is laid-back and goes with the flow.  The other is high-strung and bossy. One loves to wear dresses and jewelery and carries a purse everywhere with her blinged-out cell phone in it.  The other lives in soccer shorts and the rattiest t-shirts she can dig up, and hates skirts.

Hip to Be Square

Thank goodness it's the weekend. After being out of town last weekend,  I feel like I have been going, going, going for two weeks now.  I'm really looking forward to some downtime, although I am going to have to spend some quality time at the office at some point.

So I finally got an answer out of the doctor regarding when my mother's custom hip implant would be ready.  December fucking 12. Thank you Biomet. No, they haven't given me any reasonable explanation for why it takes 3.5 MONTHS to make a custom hip implant. It is beyond ridiculous.

No, the doctor did not ever advise us at any point that it would take 3.5 months for this part to be made.  We were told the second half of the surgery would be in 8 weeks--NOT 15!

I am not happy, but I don't think there's much I can do about it, at least not right now. I really believe that Biomet dropped the ball somewhere along the way.  And the lack of communication from the surgeon is appalling.  In typical surgeon fashion, he just wants to cut and has no interest in patient care. But by all accounts, he is the very best at this specialized surgery, so I am treading carefully so that I don't piss him off.

Meanwhile, she has run out of time on her insurance.  They are telling her she needs to move out this week--just when we learn it will be another month.  The rehab facility keeps asking her why she can't go home with me--and she asked me about it this week. This is an asinine question.  SHE CAN'T GET OUT OF BED!!!  She is completely non-weight bearing on both legs. A physical therapist or nurse has to move her from her bed to a chair on a board. She has been injured twice by professionals trying to move her.  She can't transfer to a toilet.  She would require in-home care at least 16 hours a day. A wheelchair won't fit through my doorways--she would be living in my living room or dining room. And for my own sanity:  I already have 3 kids to take care of; I'm gone at least 12 hours a day; I'm not going to force my husband and children to take on this responsibility; I am stretched as far as I can be stretched right now moving her here would undoubtedly break me.

The uninsured per diem to remain where she is is $170/day.  That's about $5000/month.  I'm certain she has access to $5K, so it's not like I'm forcing her on the street by telling her that she can't stay here.

Not to mention that home care would cost close to that $170/day, if not more.  And it doesn't cover room and board and food and laundry service and a full professional staff.

It was just beyond her comprehension that she might have to pay something out of pocket after she has been in rehab for 2.5 months. But after telling her that moving in with me is not an option, and breaking down the finances, I think it is getting through to her.

Boy, I wish they'd get that new hip in.

Vegas, baby

So, since my blog has taken a turn for the whiny of late, I will tell you about my trip to Vegas, which was really nice and lots of fun.

I've mentioned before that I don't really love Vegas.  I've been once before, and my strongest memories were of inflamed sinuses from the cigarette smoke and the whore peddlers handing out trading cards on the street.  Yeah, those things were still there.  The cigarette smoke is pervasive, and I felt vaguely headachey the entire time we were there because of it. I guess the good news is that it kept us out of the casinos.  I'm not really a gambler anyway, but I was not inclined to spend any time sitting in a haze of smoke while losing my money.

But other than that, I really enjoyed our trip, and I think a weekend is just the right amount of time to spend there. 

We stayed in the Bellagio, which is fantastic.  Our room was gorgeous and I wanted to bring the entire bathroom back home with me.

We saw three shows while we were there: Love, Absinthe and Mystere.  Love was really the reason for the trip and it did not disappoint.  It was simply fantastic.  If you are a Beatles fan it is a must-see. There was so much going on that I would go see this show again just to catch everything I missed the first time around.

I'd heard that Love is different from the typical Cirque show, and some people don't care for  it because it is more about the music than the acrobatics.  So we made a last minute decision to see Mystere when we found discount tickets--just so we could experience a classic Cirque show (because we had never seen any Cirque shows before this trip). 

I really did not care for Mystere. I thought both of the other shows that we saw were infinitely better. I can't put my finger on why I didn't care for it.  It was weird and abstract--but so was Love.  The Love music was definitely better.  The Mystere music felt a bit dated.  There is a bit with a giant baby in Mystere that I just thought was dumb.

Finally, Absinthe. It is a fairly new show in  a tent in front of Ceasar's.  We had heard about it before we left and were interested but didn't know if we would have time to see it.  But on our first night we were walking by and tickets were available, so we made the spontaneous decision to check it out.

Absinthe is vulgar, obscene, offensive and fantastic. We both really liked it (DH said more than LOVE--and he is the Beatles fan!--but I would probably put it right behind Love.) If you are offended by racial or sexual humor, don't see this show--it is really, really offensive to people of all races, colors and sexual orientation.  And multiply the Hangover 2 by 10 to understand the obscenity.  But it was really funny, and the athleticism of the performers was amazing.  There was a tiny 10 foot diameter stage, and it was astonishing what the performers could accomplish there.  It's also a very small venue--we were only 3 rows back--and I doubt there was a bad seat in the house.  I highly recommend Absinthe, with the caveat that it is offensive and if you are sensitive you should skip it (and definitely do not take your grandmother).

Other than shows, we shopped, we ate, we wandered around.  The spiked milkshakes at BLT Burger in the Mirage are definitely worth checking out, but I thought the food was mediocre.  The service at Cabo Wabo in Planet Hollywood was the worst I have ever encountered anywhere. The breakfast buffet at Bellagio was eh--nothing was warm, hard to justify the price. Room service was cheaper--and I do love eating in bed in a hotel room! Didn't try any high end restaurants--fancy food is not really out thing.

I'm glad to be back home and I think I can wait another 8 years to go back. By Sunday afternoon , we were both kind of bored. But I'm glad we went--it was a much needed, relaxing weekend.

My Life is a Roller Coaster a/k/a All Hell is Breaking Loose...Again

I got up at 5:45 this morning to make my 8:45 flight back home from Vegas (DH is there until Wednesday for his conference).  Made it to my office by 2:30.  At 3:45 TT texted me that she had a fever and wasn't feeling well.  At 4:00 the power went out in my building, so by 4:30 I had packed up and was heading home.

Got home and rechecked the kid's temp.  Yep, definitely a fever.  Got online for web check-in at urgent care.  Then PS told me that there was a hole in the fence and they had to supervise Bob every time he goes outside.  So I went to fix the fence while I waited for urgent care to call back with my appointment time.

I totally suck at fixing fences.  I broke at least 5 nails in half, bent about 8 more, and it took me entirely too long to replace two pickets.  I was cursing DH for leaving me with this crappy fence (that we are about to replace, we are just waiting for his dad to bring down a nail gun at Thanksgiving), but I eventually got the job done.  Then realized an hour had passed and urgent care had never called.  Called them, they had no record of my web check in, but said to come on down.

Of course we had to wait 30 minutes to be seen. Doc confirmed strep (no surprise, since SS had strep a week ago) and gave us a prescription for a Z-pack. Meanwhile, huge thunderstorms rolled in.  Because DH is still in Vegas, PS and SS were home alone and I was worried that they would get scared or the power would go out, but neither would answer their phones!

I headed to Kroger in the pouring rain to get the scrip filled and yelled at the punk high school who whipped around in front of me to turn into the opposite slanted parking spot (the one that was slanted in my direction).

Inside I found that Kroger had just had a power surge and most of their computers weren't working.  They couldn't process my insurance or my credit card.  But Kroger awesomely estimated my insurance payment (and I know it was right because I got the same scrip for TT last week) and I, fortunately, had cash on hand.

Headed out and stopped by Sonic per TT's request for a milkshake. Her sisters finally called back and proclaimed they were starving (it was 8:00  by then and I hadn't made dinner yet).  Ordered dinner and then realized that my wallet was nowhere to be found. Frantically called the pharmacy which confirmed that they had my wallet.  And, since I have a habit of sticking cash in the various nooks and crannies of my giant Mary Poppins bag, I had enough to cover the food I had just ordered.

Left Sonic and headed back to Kroger.  TT said, "hey, did you get my shake?"  No, I forgot all about the shake--the whole purpose of going to Sonic for my poor sick girl with a sore throat.

Back to Kroger for my wallet, then back to Sonic for the shake.  Finally made it back home at 8:30, exhausted.

Texted housekeeper to see if she could come in early and stay with TT tomorrow (if she was even willing to deal with sick kid) but she is sick, too. I need to go to work tomorrow, since I only worked a couple of hours on Friday and Monday, but it doesn't look like it's meant to be. 

in less chaotic news, all of my crises from last week resolved themselves. The dishwasher did turn out to be related to the garbage disposal (no, I didn't say " I told you so" but I did say " you should listen to your wife, there are people who pay lots of money for her opinion.") And  Friday afternoon the court granted my motion to continue the hearing that was set for tomorrow.  And I quashed all of my upcoming depositions except one  in response to a pleading filed by an opposing party on Thursday--so my schedule for the next two weeks pretty much cleared out.

Lets hope life stays calm at least until Thursday when DH is back and can help out. I am a wee bit bitter that he is still living it up  in Vegas while I am back to the circus that is our life.

Bitchfest

I am feeling like a rubber band that just keeps getting stretched farther and farther.  You can see the cracks developing and you know its gonna break, it's just a matter of when.

Today PS texted me, "There is water spewing from the thing at the top of the sink and it is getting on the hardwoods." Grrr-eat! Fortunately, she's a smart girl and knew that was a vent for the dishwasher, so she turned off the dishwasher and cleaned up the mess before it ruined the floor.

Two days ago I looked under the kitchen sink and noticed it smelled musty.  Upon further inspection I found that the garbage disposal was dripping nasty water and there was quite a puddle and a couple of inches of putrid water in a vase that happened to be conveniently placed.

DH replaced the garbage disposal last night so I figured that today's issue was probably related to his installation.  He vehemently disagreed, and I honestly can't see the connection between the dishwasher and the garbage disposal when I look at the pipes under the sink, so I guess he's off the hook.  Except that he's still the one who gets to figure out what the heck is going on with the dishwasher.And during his inspection tonight he accidentally pulled loose a hose and backed-up water flooded my kitchen and the hardwoods in the connected living room.

And this is all most inconveniently timed.  We are both leaving for Vegas on Friday.  My brother is coming down to visit our mother and look after my girls.  I do not want to leave him in a house with an f'd up dishwasher or garbage disposal.  I also don't want to go buy a dishwasher because it would come out of my Vegas money. And I don't really have the time to deal with any of this. Arrrghhhh!

This stupid trip is causing more stress than it's worth.  If it wasn't nonrefundably paid for I think I'd cancel.




I return early Monday afternoon so that I can get in a half day's work.  I have a hearing* on Tuesday, depositions on Wednesday and Thursday, a full day client meeting to prepare for his deposition the following Monday, followed my more depositions the next Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, DH is out of town until Wednesday night--and PS has a play Wednesday night.

Two different named partners have had me on two different monster memos for the last week and a half, so I haven't had time to prepare for anything coming up in the next two weeks. 

And yesterday I started working on an MSJ and Shepardizing a recent MSJ on the same topic when I found that the state supreme court issued an opinion last week that overturned existing law and completely obliterated the affirmative defense that was the basis of my MSJ.  This case is specific to the industry in which 99% of my firm's practice is based and has significant ramifications for most of our clients. So I took it upon  myself to brief the opinion and send it out to all of my partners. 

Do I get a "Wow, thanks LC.  It's a good thing you told us about this case cuz its pretty important to our clients."  Um, no (because I don't live in a fairy tale world where partners actually say thank you). I get, "Did you add this memo to our research database?  What search terms did you use? (Economic loss because its about the economic loss rule, duh!)  You know it's important to guess which search terms other people might use and not just enter the terms that come logically to you. (So, I'm supposed to use my Spidey-sense to know what random ass search term you are going to enter when you are looking for that supreme court case on the economic loss rule?)"  I was fine without a thank you, but that conversation irritated me.

And then I got, "By the way, please send me the contact information for all of the attorneys who handled that case."  That REALLY irritated me.  Because a secretary totally couldn't do that, right?  It took an enormous amount of self-control not to pop off with a smart ass comment that probably would have gotten me fired.

Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive because I'm stressed. I've been on the verge of tears a lot lately.  That's not really my thing. I definitely need more control over my life.


*And by hearing, I mean a trial on appeal from an administrative decision.  So I have to put on witnesses and introduce evidence and pick a jury.  I have a pending motion for continuance, but the court hasn't ruled yet.

Listamania: These are a few of my favorite things

No, I'm not naming my husband and kids--we already know they are my favorite things.  This list is a little more shallow than that.

1) 80's sitcoms. My fave's are Growing Pains, Who's the Boss and Family Ties.  I think those are indicative of my crappy childhood and the fact that I loved watching the idyllic perfect families. (Although, oddly, the Cosby Show was never one of my faves). Other favorites are Facts of Life and Golden Girls.  My freshman year of college all of my dormmates used to watch Golden Girls and Designing Women every night.

2) My new super comfy blanket from Costco. I'm not sure DH loves it, though, since I won't share with him.

3) Cinnamon Roll Cake.  Seriously the best cake I have ever made.

4) Margaritas.  Pretty much the only cocktail I ever order.

5) Fantastic shoes. I have a boring, conservative work wardrobe, but I love spicing it up with great shoes.

6) Traveling. We never took vacations as a kid, and I love getting to explore new places and the extra time with my family.

7) Snuggling on the couch with my cozy blanket and a good book on a dreary day.