overwhelmed, exhausted, renewed

...
I've been busy working on mittens (done) and a scarf for DD, so less time for toodling around on the computer.

Yesterday was fantastic: did storytime with DS2 in the morning, then just after lunch the babysitter (a dear friend) came, and DH came and picked me up, and we went to the 2:50 show of The Return of the King, which I loved, though it was long and there was a lot of stuff that felt like "tying up loose ends" but I didn't mind. Sam just stole my heart. I hope Sean Astin gets a best actor nomination, whenever those things happen. I hope he wins.

After the movie we went to this Brazilion restaurant, Fogo e Braja, where we ate way too much. I was LC all the way until I totally splurged on dessert, but hey, you gotta live, right?
At this restaurant, they have a big salad bar, which is very nice and has fish and chicken dishes on it, too. Then they bring side dishes (carbs, carbs, and more carbs) to the table for you to eat what you want, with the meats. The meats... several guys are wandering around the dining room with cuts of meat to slice off for you. It is somewhat embarrassing to list all the things I had: top sirloin (twice), flank steak, tri tip, pork loin, sausage, chicken, and I'm pretty sure there was something else that I'm forgetting. Also, pineapple, that was luscious, just grilled plain, nothing on it. All the meats were absolutely superb, perfectly cooked.

Of course this place costs a fortune, but this is literally the first date DH and I have had in about a year, so we didn't care.

A nice thing was we got home at a very decent hour, just after 8, and so put the kids to bed ourselves, and had plenty of time to "recover" from dinner. I was so stuffed!

Today started out more somber... Rosie, our cat, was definitely missing. She's old and stupid. OK, let me give her some credit: she's an indoor cat, and if she gets out, she gets easily confused because she doesn't go out often enough to know her way around, and the houses around here are all very similar. I still had to get the kids to school, etc. Also, since today was DD's last day of school before the break, I was up early and baking mini-loaves of quick bread for her teachers. (I've low-carbed them all successfully, just don't ask for the recipes!) Cranberry-blueberry, lemon yogurt (I usually make as muffins), zucchini bread, all before 11:30... sometimes I amaze myself.

I used my mini-loaf pan from Pampered Chef which has been sitting in my closet, unused, for well over a year now, and I loved it! It was truly awesome. And so easy to clean, and I like that it makes these 4 nice little loaves. Sometimes with the bigger loaves, especially when cooking LC, the outside cooks much faster than the inside, and that shouldn't such a problem with stoneware pan.

All morning I was choking up about the cat -- I had done a little walk around our immediate area this morning but didn't see her. On previous occasions when she has escaped, she's always been waiting just outside the door, wanting to come in and eat again, I think. This morning, she was nowhere in sight and didn't come when called, so I was sure she had wandered off and been eaten by a hawk or coyote or something. (Hey, it could happen. Not usually in Chandler, but it could happen.)

After bringing DD home (and delivering the breads to her teachers), we walked down to check the storm drains to see if Rosie was hiding there. We see feral cats coming in and out of them all the time. She wasn't there. On the way back home, I'm feeling quite sad, and we're walking so sloooowly because DS2 has such little legs. I'm looking across the street when DD says, "That cat looks like Rosie," and points to a cat hunkered down by a garage door, directly across the street from our house. I looked at the cat and said, "That's because that cat is Rosie!" And I scooped her up and brought her home.

She's none the worse for the wear, although she has been eating pretty steadily. She let me brush her quite a bit this afternoon which was great. She always sheds when she's stressed, and gobs of hair were coming off of her.

That was such a relief, to find her. My heart was breaking over the thought of her in pain or peril. She's really the only pet I've ever had.

So then, we hadn't had lunch it was already 1:30 and I needed to go to Target to get a gift certificate for DS1's teacher, so we all got in the car and went to BK for lunch and then to Target and then home and then out again to pick up DS1 and drop off his teacher's gift... way too much running around today.

Kids were all picking on each this afternoon, and that just got me so frazzled that I actually passed out for about a half hour upstairs after DH got home. He actually made dinner for the kids and himself, I just had some leftover cream of aspargus soup (Trader Joe's, it's OK but I don't think I'll buy it again) and some cheese and crackers. I felt a lot better after that nap.

DD's scarf is nearly done and I think i want to polish it off tonight so I'm outta here. Tomorrow is another crazy day, lots of errands planned and DS1 has early release from school, too. Wheeee! I'm about to get on the big Christmas tilt-a-whirl. I only hope I survive. I'm getting more excited about Christmas and especially psyched to have 2 whole weeks where I don't have to drive anyone around! Yay!