“Must stop playing and get serious”

It's New Years Eve Day, and the the weather has been GORGEOUS outside...it's 70'ish right now...hard to imagine for the LAST day of 2008.

And although I feel like I have so many emotions and thoughts running throughout my mind....I've been doing CRAZY things all day long.

Like.....taking Miss Priss to get a "root canal" this morning at 9:00am...usually I can't even MOVE at 9:00 but today was a real "GIFT from God" to me so... off we went.
Amazingly.....I was up at 7:00 and getting ready to run for the day.
Good. Very good.

Once getting Miss Priss settled and after chatting with our dentist's wife.....who is a friend of mine....I "ventured" up Perkin's road which is NORMALLY a "nightmare" road here in B.R.

Ugh.....HORRIBLE construction...widening of the road..etc. etc....and then once you get close to Bluebonnet....it's like "PULL MY HAIR OUT SOMEONE PLEASE" because the traffic is so horrible...add in the construction on a major new "UPSCALE" Mall "Perkins Rowe" and Condo's AND...road construction.

The Baton Rouge city "planners" are nuts, I must say.

I know about these things because we lived here for 8 years...before moving away for 7 years.
Then we moved back and the city's "infrastructure" still was BAD.

Then....South Louisiana got hit by TWO not one....but TWO "Category 5hurricanes" within ONE months time of each other.

Baton Rouge was overwhelmed by Hurricane Katrina evacuees already....and I mean....thousands.....and thousands.....by some estimates......our city grew by 300 thousand people OVERNIGHT. Then add in some Rita evacuees.....

I'm not complaining about people fleeing and coming here to town.
God bless them I would have done just what they did and we all were very welcoming of them all coming.

The thing I'm talking about is an already "busting at the seams" over-CROWEDED city......cramming more people onto the roads.
Roads are just part of it....the schools have been hit hard too but that is another subject for another day.

Lord have mercy. It's been crazy ever since.
Not as bad mind you as those first days after hurricane Katrina but it's never, ever, been the same. Nor do I think it ever will be.

Traffic has always has been pretty bad in this city.....but now certain areas are even MORE wretched.

This area I was in today....I normally "boycott"....but I took a chance at traveling into that "zone" because it was already after the "8:00am work traffic".....today it is New Years Eve and people are off work...AND I had some spare time that I had to burn in that part of town.

First thing I did was......I checked out the brand new grocery store called
"Fresh Market" and it's lovely. Very nice and new and prissy.
It has a "to die for" Deli. Absolutly impressive.

However...I thought this store was going to be like another "Whole Foods" which I LOVE to shop at.

In fact, it's not similar to them at ALL. But they had some fine "Classical music" going on in there. That was nice.

This grocery store is mainly "Gourmet" type foods......which wasn't what I was looking for.
I was looking for the "Organic...Gluten Free....Natural" stuff...and that's not what they are all about...so I was in and out in a flash.

I spent an entire $4.00 there...I purchased some overpriced Banana's because I needed some at the house and some discounted German Chocolates, Truffles and such to eat tonight....yummmmm.

I remembered that they had just built a brand, spanking NEW "Barnes and Noble" store beside one of my MOST favorite restaurant's in ALL of Baton Rouge...."Le Madeline's"...so it was either go to Le Madeline's and EAT or go to Barnes and Noble which was open at 9:30am.....so since I had JUST ate one of my newly purchased Banana's....I choose Barnes and Noble.

Now I LOVE a good book store. I could NEVER work in one (unless I owned it) because I would spend MORE than what I could ever make working there.....inside the store.

I rarely go to Barnes and Noble here in town because the one we had is so far away from me and I don't like it that much.

I always go to Book's a Million.....it's not as upscale but their discount card is a greater discount and they have a decent coffee shop, etc. AND it's close to where I like to shop at......so I go there ALL the time.

But I have to say......this new store...."took my breath away"....I felt bad for my sad, dumpier looking "BAM store." I felt like I was "betraying" them.

I FORCED myself to "behave" in there...and put some things back on the shelf.....and only bought "discounted" items that I found for 50% off. Good girl.

Although I do plan on going back though one day with my friend Nora and we might as well do lunch next door too.
Yikes!!

Poor Miss Priss called......she had so much drainage and infection in this tooth she was having fixed that they couldn't really complete it. Ugh!
She has to go back in a week.....after another ROUND of anti-biotics she's started today.

I went back to get her at the Dentist then we went to another plaza area....and returned a robe....bought Miss Priss a purple scarf...and a greatly discounted.... "Red wooden box" chock full of "Godiva Chocolate" products and some nice "Lindt Chocolates in a very sweet, little tin that I will keep and use as well.
I would have just bought the very CUTE box for the money but the Godiva stuff was a bonus we figured.

Next...we had to drop the prescription off and get some groceries....in FACT..I bought enough groceries to get us through a "Midwest Blizzard"...what's up with that?
As if there won't be any food left in town tomorrow?
That was crazy.

Then we grabbed some "drive through" lunch.....not good. Then rented some movies to watch tonight, then went to the bank.

We drove home and ate....I checked my e-mails....and then Miss Priss took a nap.....and I left and went to TWO more shops!

What is this "Shopping madness" today??

I have other stuff I need to do important stuff....like "reflect".....which I have done and will continue to do throughout the afternoon and evening.

For now...I am "playing"...I went out into the yard and snapped this photo of one of my rosebushes that is going WILD....it's a climber but it's been blooming like mad since Christmas Day!

Don and the two boys were home very early and were getting in on the crazy day themselves by "lifting weights" on the back patio.
That was crazy.
Even my husband was doing it....his poor face was so red and I was afraid he might have a brain aneurysm....but he said..."let us be MEN!"....

To which I said....."Booooo RRRah...you GO for it guys!"
And then left them to continue to flash their testosterone around like cave men.

Since the weather is sooooo wonderful....people in our neighborhood are mowing and raking and taking down Christmas decorations outside.
OF course..I started to do that too.

I just took down my little outside "yard flag"....the Christmas one....and replaced it with a "Valentine's Day" one.......hummmmm.....that feels WEIRD.
Sort of early huh?? It's only December 31st. I keep forgetting.

Today I bought all the ingredients (and more)to make that "Mexican fifty thousand layer bean dip" for tonight while we are watching the movies I rented.

My house is cluttered...I'm scattered as "Buckshot" today for some reason....and I have a million things I COULD be doing...yet here I sit typing my brains out.

I "MUST stop playing and get serious!!"
Does that sound like "Bridget Jones??"

My Cousin put that on her blog the other day and she wondered if it was a
"Bridget Jones quote." But I sort of checked into it and I don't think it is actually from the movies.

Although I am not a Bridget Jones authority.

We are going to ponder that Bridge Jones stuff a bit more later.....because I have a few "thoughts"....hummm so stay tuned.

Possibly if there is too much Mexican bean dip happening around here...because that's as wild as it's going to get at our house tonight...and I don't make it back on here to say so....
MAY you all have a HAPPY AND BLESSED New Year.
Cheers!
JM
See you next year!
I hate when people do that. HA!