Playing catch up

My week off flew by, it felt like a long weekend, not nine days away from the florescent lights, keyboard, phone calls, and paperwork.

My first two days off were spent painting trim and doors; the bedroom and bathroom downstairs are now fully complete. I also replaced all the gold hardware with brushed nickel. It’s a welcomed improvement. I cannot wait until every gold fixture is phased out of the house.

The next few days we spent in Laughlin. We came home Wednesday, but most of the day was spent juggling vehicles. We picked up the Jimmy from the Trans repair shop across town. We ran to Jiffy Lube to pick up my car, the collision shop did a good job with repairs. I was happy. It’s practically as good as new; it would be if my interior still smelled like new car instead of glue. The local Enterprise location was closed by the time we got my car, they’d remain closed until Friday, so we opted to return the Nitro to the Rental Car Facility near McCarran. Between the running around and rainy weather it was a complete waste of a day. At least we topped it off by relaxing in the hot tub. I swear that’s a cure all…

Thursday, I cleaned and cooked, while Frank watched football. It was my first attempt at cooking a turkey. I’m happy to report it was a success. It was moist and flavorful. Wish I could say the same for my mashed potatoes and stuffing (or dressing, since I don’t put it in the bird). The flavor of the stuffing was dead on, but the texture was off. Last year, I made it at my sister’s for her thanksgiving feast and it came out fine. Not sure what the deal was. I don’t think I let the potatoes cook long enough; the texture was way off there, too. Overall, we had a nice meal. My mom stayed with us the next couple nights.

We hit a few stores on Black Friday. My greatest finds were at Home Depot. The sales seemed pretty weak this year. There wasn’t much that I was interested in. Frank and I trimmed the palms in the backyard, and the rest of the day and Saturday we spent quality time with my mom. She injured her back in Oct; she’s been out of work and stuck at home. She appreciated the company and the change of scenery.

Sunday was my last day off, I spent it cleaning house, doing laundry, decorating for Christmas and I cleaned out the garage. Frank watched football. We capped the night off with dinner at Stratta.

I really thought I’d get more done and have some down time, but that didn’t happen. It would have been really tough to go back to work this week if I didn’t have our staycation at the Signature next week to look forward to.