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Avoiding the Flu Like the Plague

In October Andy and I got our seasonal flu shots when he had a nurse come to the office and give them to all his employees (well, those who wanted it, that is). Around that time Steph got one at school. Maybe a month after that, Pete and Julie got theirs at the pediatrician's office. 

As for H1N1, I think Andy actually had it—the disease, not the shot—a few weeks ago. He had what seemed to be a very mild flu. He was feverish, but not too hot; achy, but not like other times when he couldn't even bear to have a T-shirt touch his skin; tired, but not completely zonked out. A few days of taking it easy at home and he was pretty much back to normal. That's how I've heard H1N1 described for most adults. It's kids who seem to get sicker from it.

Steph was allowed to get one of the early batches of the vaccine because she's considered high-risk. Then Pete and Julie just got theirs at school today.

Which leaves me. I don't know whether I should bother trying to hunt down an H1N1 vaccine for myself (or Andy, for that matter, since we don't know for sure whether he actually had it). What about you, have you had a flu shot (or the flu) this year?

Recap

I made it! I came through on the other side! The most hectic day in history is over! The hardest part was dealing with the teensy bits of downtime (10 minutes here and there) that were not long enough to actually do anything but too long to just sit there. It doesn't help that I am positively swamped with work (did I mention three new clients in as many months?) and was unable to check anything off my to-do list today.

Apropos of my Saturday post in which I suggested that I might be taking a day off from blogging each week ... I think I'll try not to (for a while, anyhow). Many of you made the point that this blog should never become a dreaded chore, but by the same token I feel that forcing myself to write something—anything—every day is a pretty good habit. The truth is that my blog stats plummet every Saturday, so that would be the day to do it if I should decide to give myself a weekly day off. Well, let's see what this Saturday brings, shall we?

Overscheduled

Tomorrow will be the day that either does me in or proves I'm immortal (Steph, too). Here's what's on tap:

8:30    Kids start school, just like always.
9:00    Caterer comes to my house to discuss Bat Mitzvah menu! Exciting and a little scary.
11:15    Pick up Steph at school for...
11:30    Steph has her biannual dentist appointment. I normally don't schedule medical appointments for the kids during the day, but I had to reschedule this one twice already, so you takes what you gets. But she does not go back to school afterward, because then...
1:30    Steph has her annual ophthalmologist appointment. Again, I had to reschedule, and Dr. Bhatt is famously hard to get an appointment with, so we were glad to get anything this calendar year. But she does not go back to school afterward, because then...
3:00    Steph has a meeting with the rabbi to work on the draft of her Dvar Torah, which she began last week. Also at 3:00, Pete will go home with his friend; he has a standing playdate-cum-saxophone lesson every Monday afternoon. (That reminds me, I have to remember to drop off his saxophone sometime before 3:30.) Also at 3:00, Julie will go home with her friend for a playdate.
4:15    Pick up Julie at her friend's house, because her friend has dance class. Andy should be home by then, so I can leave her with him, because then...
5:00    Steph has her regular Monday tutoring session for her Bat Mitzvah. I will drop her there and run back to pick up Pete at his friend's house, because right afterward...
6:00    Steph and Pete have their second appointment with our new chiropractor (more on this later).

And then, sometime around 7:00, I will walk back through my door—and Andy better have a big glass of vodka iced up for me is all I can say.

Day of Rest

(Sorry, but I just can't do it today. I've been thinking lately about taking a blogging break on Saturdays. Would you be disappointed? Would you think less of me? Would you even notice? I'm open to feedback on this extremely complex and far-reaching issue.)

Friday iPod Random Ten Eleven

OK, tell the truth: Did you notice that I plumb forgot to do this last Friday, or did you just politely not say anything about it? Well, regardless, I'll give you an extra one today for your troubles (and don't ever let anyone tell you mine doesn't go to eleven):

1. Brown to Blue - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2. Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare-Krishna Beauregard (live) - John Prine
3. Teardrops Will Kiss the Morning Dew - Alison Krauss & Union Station
4. Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six - Tom Waits
5. Kansas City - Willie Nelson & Susan Tedeschi
6. Boom, Like That - Mark Knopfler
7. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk - Rufus Wainwright
8. Tennessee Plates - John Hiatt
9. The Picture (live) - Loudon Wainwright III
10. Streets of Philadelphia (live) - Bruce Springsteen
11. Mirror in the Bathroom - English Beat

Real Bloggers Do Eat Quiche

I've often said that I could be very happy to just nosh all day long. When Andy's away on business overnight, I often don't have a proper dinner—I might have some cheese and crackers, maybe a few bites of leftover something-or-other, and a handful of cashews. And I'm the one who always loads up on the hors d'oeuvres at a wedding—they're always better than the main course anyhow, aren't they?

So when Mom Central asked if I'd be interested in trying out a package of frozen appetizers from Nancy's for free (and giving a free package to one of my readers!), I leaped at the chance.

At my local market, the only Nancy's product they carry is the one I was hoping to get anyhow, the mini quiches. The coupon was worth up to $4.99, and the 12-pack of quiches were on sale that day for $4.89.

I love quiche lorraine—bacon, cheese, and eggs all in a crust? What's not to love? So about an hour ago I heated them up in the oven and presented them to the kids. Steph ate one and thought it was "just OK." Julie ate one and then quickly ate three more and declared that she had just had supper. Likewise, Pete took one bite and said, "Can you please buy these a lot now?" (Answer: Yes—and next time I'll get the larger ones so they really can be a dinner!) He elaborated: "This is the kind of crust I like." I too thought they were delicious—the filling was just the right texture and flavor, and the crust was crisp but not hard. All in all: YUM.

If you visit the Nancy's site, you will be dazzled by all the appetizer offerings: mushroom turnovers, crab cakes, beef wellingtons, and more, plus mini chocolate and/or pecan tarts for dessert. I bet they're all awesome. The web site also lists all the stores that carry their stuff, including the warehouse stores, where you can get big packages for big parties.

So, now's your chance: If you want to win a coupon for a free 12-pack of any Nancy's appetizer (up to $4.99 value), leave me a comment below telling me about an hors d'oeuvres you've had that was yummy, or one that you make when you entertain, or anything else related to pre-dinner noshing. I'll take entries until midnight my time on Tuesday, December 8, and announce the winner the next day. You'll need to provide an email address so I can reach you, and then I'll ask for your snail-mail address so I can send the coupon off to you pronto, in time for your holiday party needs. Good luck!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Nancy’s Appetizers and received 2 coupons to facilitate my review and a $20 thank-you gift certificate.

A Few Links Before I Collapse

Today whipped my butt, so the best I can do is leave you with some links that I hope will be of interest:

1. A gallery of photos that Norman Rockwell used for his famous paintings. Way more interesting than it sounds, really!

2. Do you know your litotes from your chiasmus? Take this quiz on figures of speech! (Don't worry, there are also some easy ones, like metaphor and pun.) I did better than I thought I would.

3. Have you seen this thirsty kitty? Reminds me of my friends who used to have a Maine coon cat that liked to be soaking wet. He would stand in the shower with each of them every morning. Bonus: Unbearably cute surprised kitty.

So Cold

If you've been playing along at home, you know that every few weeks or months, the freezer part of my fridge stops working. Then I open my wallet for the repairman, and all is well again. Lather, rinse, repeat. You may also recall that we recently decided that we would replace the damn thing instead of continuing to throw good money after bad, and it's been behaving beautifully ever since. Until this past weekend (after Thanksgiving, for which I give extra thanks!), when it was up to its old tricks again. This time I drove straight to Best Buy and Sears, armed with my list of model numbers I'd gotten off the Internets. (Incidentally, I found that prices were much better at Sears—a store I'd never so much as set foot in before except in recent years to return items to Lands' End). As soon as I got home, wouldn't you know it, Mr. Freezy got all cold and lovable again. Its days are numbered, mark my words.

Skip-Bo Skipped Out on Us

We did a massive cleanup before Thanksgiving, which meant that afterward we had to locate all the stuff we'd stashed in out-of-the-way places. Lunchboxes? Broom closet. Pizza stone? Sunporch. But one thing never turned up: our Skip-Bo game, which Julie and I play at least once every day. No exaggeration. We looked everywhere. I even offered a cash reward. Yesterday I finally broke down and bought a new one, figuring that I would immediately find the old one. But no, it still hasn't surfaced.

I just looked up Skip-Bo on Wikipedia and was delighted to learn that it's really just a packaged version of Spite and Malice, which is an old card game we used to play all the time when we were kids. I'd forgotten all about it, but now I know why I love Skip-Bo so much!

Forms of Address

I had planned to send all the Bat Mitzvah invitations out today but ran into a partially predicted snag: The only 61¢ stamps currently available from the USPS are wedding cakes and Richard Wright, neither of which is exactly right for this occasion. So I did what I swore I wouldn't do: went to Zazzle.com and ordered monogrammed stamps for more than the cost of postage—and paid extra for two-day shipping! Gah! I got the smallest, least fancy ones I could, but still. And because of that delay, I still haven't bothered printing out the address labels or stuffing the envelopes yet.

Speaking of which, my Invitation Lady gave me some photocopies from an etiquette manual that tells how you're supposed to address the envelopes. For instance:

Invitations to girls under age eighteen should be address Miss Jane Smith. For ages eighteen and over, Ms. is preferred. Boys under age nine are Master. Between ages nine and seventeen, no title is used. At eighteen, Mr. is used.

I'm glad I'm not inviting any nine-year-old boys, because I think I would die laughing if I had to address them as Master.

Other interesting "rules":

For same-sex couples, if you know both partners equally well, their names should be written in alphabetical order on two separate lines. If you know only one person well, list that person's name first.

Divorcées can be Ms. Jane Green (maiden name) or Mrs. Jane Green (married name). In the past, widows were addressed as Mrs. John Smith, but today Mrs. Mary Smith is acceptable.

I got a few other clever tips from my Invitation Lady:

1. Number the guest list, and then write the corresponding numbers in tiny print on the back of the reply cards. That way if you get one back that doesn't have a name on it, you'll know whose it is.

2. Use a glue stick (not your tongue or a sponge) to seal the envelopes.

3. Ask at the Post Office if you can hand-cancel the envelopes. They'll look prettier without that tire-tread mark all over the front, and it's one less machine they have to get through safely.