It's been a LONG day...

...and I'm exhausted.  I know I disappeared again.  I'm sorry.  I have no excuse for the beginning of the month, but for the past couple of weeks, I've actually been working.  Ok, ok, don't get too excited.  My sister was able to get me some seasonal work with her company.  You may remember I worked with her a while back as a Perfume Ninja.  I actually worked another day with her last month at the Bloomingdale's on Michigan Avenue.  Now, she was able to get me a few weeks worth of work for Christmas.  Believe me, I'm very grateful.  But, I'm just not used to being on my feet that long anymore.  Plus, the store I've been working at is not that close to my house (Bolingbrook, for my local friends) so it's making for long days.

Today was probably the last day I'll be off until after Christmas, so I used it to do some baking and treat making.  I had intended to start yesterday, but just as I was getting started, I got the call I wish for every day.  Monkey Day!!!  How can you resist this face?!?!

Today, I met my Monkey, her daddy and my mother for breakfast, but then I stood firm and didn't let my brother suck me into wasting the day.  He tried really hard to get me to go to Costco with him, but I was strong!  Instead, I went straight home and got to work.  Here's a little peek...

I made about 36 dozen cookies.  No, I'm NOT exaggerating.  This is just a small sample of what I made:

Then I made a couple batches of peanut butter fudge:

A couple batches each of chocolate fudge, both with AND without nuts:

A couple batches of chocolate mint fudge (and, yes, it's as incredible as it sounds, if I do say so myself!):

A couple batches of toffee bars, one with nuts and one without:

And three batches of peanut brittle:

I really wanted to make more, but I think I'm done for the night.  I've actually been Skyping with Brian, Stud's friend from Hong Kong who stayed with us senior year, while I've been trying to post this.  It's been a tad frustrating, as Brian's internet connection keeps screwing up.  We had to give up on video chatting, and now we're just IMing.  I started this post more than an hour and a half ago.  It's WAY past my bedtime.

I will share one more thing, though.  Stud has been working like a dog over at the Golden Arches.  That's a post for another day, so I'll complain later.  But, today, he was supposed to work until 4pm.  After he clocked out for the day, he was sitting in the break room, eating the lunch he never got to eat during his 8-hour shift, when his manager came and asked him if he'd be willing to clock back in, and do them a favor.  Look!

He was SANTA!!!  And, a mighty adorable one, at that!  (And, yes, there's a pillow stuffed under there.  hahaha!)  There was some sort of mix-up, and a different manager forgot to arrange for a Santa for an event they had planned for tonight.  I know he loved every second of it, as he adores little kids.  He actually brought home a letter some little girl gave him.  It was so sweet, it brought a tear to my eye.  Clearly, Stud was moved by it, too, as he saved it and brought it home.  It said something about how Christmas is about family, not about presents.  It was much more touching than that, but you get the idea.  He said most of the kids tried to give him letters, but he told them to hang on to them, and to leave them out on Christmas Eve, alongside the cookies and milk.  He's too cute!

Ok, I just signed off with Brian, and I must sign off from here, too.  Long day tomorrow.  If any of my local Bloggy Buddies are near The Promenade of Bolingbrook tomorrow, stop in at Macy's and say hi!

Surprise!

I finally downloaded some pictures that CSJ took at his mother's surprise party.

I love the look on CSJ's face in this picture. He is SO excited for his mommy.Yay! Surprise!!

Not the best picture, but here are 6 of my mother-in-law's 9 children.

The kids and their spouses.

My mother-in-law has 17 grandchildren, and 10 of them made it to the party. :)
Here are all the GREAT-grandchildren that were at the party. How stinkin' cute are they!?
The two little darlings to the right of my MIL (in the sort of matching dresses) are actually twins. When they were toddlers, everyone called them Salt 'N Pepper, since one has curly blondish hair with blue eyes and fair skin, and the other has pin-straight dark hair, brown eyes and olive skin. Both are simply beautiful.

This is my second oldest sister-in-law. Is she my MIL's twin or what?!?! (She's the grandma of the twins above.)

Awwww...my mother-in-law and her baby!

I can't wait to see the professional version of this one. I think I'm going to love it.These are my MIL's girlfriends I mentioned in an earlier post. They all were nurses together at Northwestern Memorial Hospital here in Chicago for over 25 years, until my MIL retired about 16 years ago.
This is the pastor from my MIL's church (whom she adores!) and his wife.

Her favorite grandchild!

Well, ok, she would never say that to anyone else, but WE know it's the truth! ;-) He IS her last grandchild, and the baby's baby, so that makes him special in his own right.

Her other favorite grandchild, Brian. She just loved that kid so much. She was really sad that he left. She's gonna miss the little booger.
Ok, that's all for today. When I get the professional pictures back, I'll be boring you with more, so consider yourself warned.

Sad Saturday

Brian is going back to Hong Kong today.

Happy Birthday, Ma!

Today is my mother-in-law's actual birthday. Wow, 80 years young! I still don't have any pictures to share, although I just realized last night that CSJ may have some on his camera. I'll look into that tonight.

Last night Brian graduated. Stud, CSJ and I attended the ceremony, along with my mother and mother-in-law, and Brian's mother. (She arrived from Hong Kong Tuesday night) Somehow, we all were split up at the ceremony. Stud sat on the floor with my MIL, in the VIP section (and by VIP I mean handicapped/elderly/people who couldn't climb stairs). My mom and Brian's mom sat on one side of the auditorium, directly across from CSJ and I on the OTHER side of the auditorium. The two moms went in while I was waiting for CSJ to go park the car. They wanted to make sure they could save seats. Well, that was great, except I forgot to tell them which side of the auditorium Brian told me to sit on, so we'd be closer to him. When CSJ and I went in, we went to the side Brian told me to, but then we couldn't find the moms. CSJ found them just as the graduates started walking in, so they basically were stuck. Eh, in the windup, it was fine. Brian's mom walked down to the floor to take pictures anyway.

I think the seating actually worked out for the best. The whole night was so bittersweet for us. I know I (STILL!!) haven't shared the scoop, but you may remember that Stud started college this past January. That means he missed out on participating in this ceremony. It was best, I think, that CSJ and I sat alone, because neither one of us had to pretend it wasn't killing us. I'm trying NOT to dwell on the whole situation, so I'm going to move on.

I'm so excited that we have a long weekend. I, actually, am half-way through my SIX-day weekend. Let me just share the highlights....

Wednesday morning, on the way to work, I managed to wreck the RENTAL car I've been driving since Stud's car was smashed a few weeks ago. Yeah...good times, good times... When I went to Enterprise to switch cars, they told me that Enterprise will probably total the car because of the extent of the damage.

Anyway, I never went to work on Wednesday, since I had to deal with this accident. I spent almost 2 hours filing the report at the police station, then I went straight to my insurance agent's office, where I spent another 2 hours (mostly because they're friends of mine, so we were chatting) then it was off to Enterprise to get another car. By the time all was said and done, it was the end of my work day! I ended heading over to my mother's because my brother was there with my monkey. Yay!

So, moving on. I had already taken today off because I had plans with a friend whose birthday is also today. After I ended up taking Wed. off, too, my insurance agent friend convinced me that I should just take Thursday off, as well, and make it a loonngg weekend. He didn't need to suggest that twice! I spent the day with my baby, running errands and just hanging out before it was time for graduation.

So far this morning, I've been enjoying the gorgeous weather. I'm about to go outside and plant the tomato and basil plants we bought yesterday. I need to do it before it gets too hot. The past few days have reached the high 80s, low 90s, and today is also expected to hit the 90s. Right now, it's in the high 60s, which is perfect. I'd better get going, huh? It's almost 8am!!

I'll try to come back later with some photos. I'm skipping today's NaBloPoMo post because it was really stupid. You're welcome. :)

And, finally, a very happy 21st anniversary to my dear friends Suz & Coach, and Karen & Gregg!!

In other news...

Brian went to prom tonight.

Homecoming 2011

I guess I forgot to mention that Homecoming was this weekend, huh? Oops, sorry.

Last night was my baby's last high school homecoming. How in the hell did THAT happen? How is it possible that he's a freakin' SENIOR already?!?

Well, here it is at last...meet Brian! (And please ignore the disgusting pig sandwiched between these two handsome young men!)
Stud's best friend set Brian up with a date for the dance. I'd say he did a damn fine job, don't you think? She's a doll!These two met for the first time last Sunday. I'd say they're hitting off pretty well. Stud said that the two of them basically disappeared the entire dance. They went outside and sat in the courtyard, and got to know each other. How sweet!I just can't wrap my head around the fact that these 3 are seniors!!!! Some of you that have been around for a while may remember that these three have gone to school together since grammar school. Stud and his bestest friend met when they were in kindergarten! Ryan, the boy on the left, transferred to their school in the 2nd grade. I have the coolest pictures of them from their 8th grade graduation, and in about 8 months, I'll be taking one of them at their high school graduation. Holy crap, I just made myself cry. I'll be right back....

Ok, I'm better. Here's a shot of the girls.
The guys. The boy next to Brian is also an exchange student at Stud's school. He is here from Thailand.The whole gang.
Stud and his date. They're just friends. For now. Stud's been crushin' on her for a while now. Stud's best friend's mom put out a little spread of goodies for the kids, since we gathered at her house for pictures before the dance. Yes, that's sparkling grape juice. I got her hooked on the stuff. Stud LOVES it, and we always have it at parties. It's her new favorite thing.See, I told you, he LOVES the stuff!If you want to take a walk down memory lane, you can check out Homecoming 2008, Homecoming 2009, and Homecoming 2010 here.

The group went to a pizza place after the dance. We were all a bit disappointed yesterday when we realized that I was STILL going to have to do the driving for the dance. There were some new laws passed here in IL not too long ago regarding teenaged drivers. One of them is that, until they've had their license for 9 months, or until they are 18 (which ever come first) they are only allowed to drive with ONE other child under 18 in the car. There is an exception, though, for siblings. I think it's a great law. Unfortunately for us, Stud's only had his license for about 3 months, and he won't be 18 for another month and a half. His best friend has only had his license about 2 months longer that Stud. None of the other 3 boys have a license. So, that means the moms still had to drive them to the dance. SENIOR YEAR! Ugh! They were all good about it, but I know they wish it didn't have to be that way. There was a part of me that was tempted to just let Stud and best friend drive, since we only live 20 streets (NOT blocks, simply cross streets) from school. But, I was afraid that the police would be out in full force, knowing that is was Homecoming night, and I didn't want to chance it. In the windup, I drove Stud, Brian and their dates, best friend drove with his date, and Ryan, his date, and the other couple drove with Ryan's mom. That meant we had to drop them off at the dance, go back and get them a few hours later, and drop them at the restaurant, then go back about an hour later and pick them up again. Actually, CSJ picked them up at the restaurant since I had already fallen asleep.

Not too much more to share, since Stud's been a little mum about the whole thing. Well, that the first in a long list of "lasts" for my baby's senior year. I think I'll go cry some more now.

2008

2009

2010

2011