I have been working a lot lately -- folks who read my updates at fb know this. I covered for the Eugene Stor-N-Lok for two weeks, had a few days off and then have been covering for the Springfield Stor-N-Lok for the past week or two. Inbetween I've been working at Willamalane and trying to catch up on things at home, but I'm hopelessly behind and it looks like things may remain that way for some time to come. Ah well.

Got birthday gift shopping done for Sophie. She turns nine on Thursday and had made some specific requests such as a Leapster (not in my budget at this time), a My Meebas game with plushy (completely out of stock) and Piranha Attack (which I can't find). I did find a Crayola glow screen kit that she'd requested. Yea! Plus I got her a little stuffed Club Penguin dressed like a cheerleader (the fairies were gone) and a pink Club Penguin puffle. I so rock. Additionally, I snatched up the movie, Up, yesterday. Grandma Mathews got her a portable Walkman-style radio -- she is going to flip out when she's that. Grandma Duff has been industriously searching for Blendy Pens. I've told her to check out Target, but she hears only every fifth word so last I heard she was calling office supply stores. *crossed eyes*

Tried to be proactive and get some Christmas present shopping done too. Emily has specifically requested a blue butterfly My Littlest Pet Shop online interactive toy. All I can find are pink butterflies. Aaagh! LOL. I've seen the blue ones, but apparently so has everyone else. Yes, Em is 11, but she still adores My Littlest Pet Shop.

And I cooked a meal that Jeff liked so much that he happly wolfed down the rest of it at lunch today. I found the recipe in a book review in People magazine of all places:

Comfort Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 3/4 cups quick oats
• 1 cup milk
• 3 T. finely minced onion
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• Black Pepper
• 4 T. canola oil
• 1 /2 cup flour

Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 T. sugar
• 3 T. distilled white vinegar
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 4-6 T. minced onion
• Dash of Tabasco (didn't do as we're not a Tabasco sort of family)

In a bowl, combine ground beef and oats. Add milk, onion, salt and pepper; stir to combine. Roll mixture into tablespoon-sized balls, refrigerate 30-45 minute. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Hat oil in large skillet ove medium heat. Dredge meatballs in flour and brown in batches until light brown. Place into baking dish. Stir together sauce ingredients and drizzle on meatballs. Bake about 45 minutes or until bubbly and hot. Recipe from "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" by Ree Drummond.

I served with mashed potatoes -- would have served up another veggie too, but I was exhausted. I was thankful I'd made up some raspberry Jell-O the other night when I made a poke cake for church. Yea! Now to figure out what to cook for tonight. It's a toss up between jambalaya with chicken or this nifty tuna noodle casserole recipe I found the other day.

So, it'll be Stor-N-Lok tomorrow and Thursday again. It sounds like I've been given Friday off (the husband half of the Eugene Stor-N-Lok team will cover for me). But I work Saturday, then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for sure. Thursday is Thanksgiving. My district manager is attempting to get Friday and Saturday off for me too since we've been planning a holiday trip to Idaho for quite some time now. It may or may not happen. The big relief for me is that the schedule should return to normal after that -- a couple from a storage facility up north (managed by the same company) is transferring down and they already know how to run things. They'll be official December 1 and I am so glad! I'll just have to learn how they prefer things to run and adapt -- I'm good at doing that.

Now to watch some cold November rain fall...

Which means there are just 64 days until Christmas. Is that awful of me to share?

In other news -- my work situation may change dramatically for a while through November, maybe December. It means more money (just in time to buy Christmas pressies!), but it also means less time at home. Fortunately, I won't be working clear over in Eugene and would still be able to sneak home to get the girls to swimming and to either check on dinner or get it going. Just thought I'd share so if you'd like to pray, you could -- that we'll all make through the next months with big smiles on our faces -- and grateful hearts. Thanks!

I'd take a picture, but I won't. Suffice it to say, there are some busy folks outside and they're putting in a new sewage system for the street. I won't complain as they've been very gracious and quick to make way if I happen to arrive home when they're working or if I need to leave. Our driveway is a popular spot to block off it seems. LOL. I have to eye Donna a little. I think she's gloating a bit (she's not here for the next two weeks, down in California)... there's no parking on her side of the street, the mailboxes are on her side of the street and the sewage stuff is on OUR side of the street. LMAO! Ah well, can't complain -- what we had was apparently going rotten and fast so hey. I'm glad the city had the money to fix things -- one can't be too sure of what's reparable or not these days. And suddenly I'm glad I hadn't buried bulbs in that little strip across the sidewalk. Whoo! They'd be all gone now!

I've been working a bit -- not too bad, but I'll be working constantly starting this Saturday. I'll be covering the Eugene Stor-N-Lok for two weeks while the regular managers head east to Missouri and family. I kind of wish they'd fly... I welcome the money, but it's a long time to be gone and I don't like being over in Eugene until after six. Ugh! I just hope things work smoothly. Em is still missing her cell phone and that is chafing at me. At the same time, I don't mind working there -- I get to see the kitties, I don't have to run to an outhouse and it's a very nice little facility. I'll probably get addicted to another TV show again although I managed to wean myself off CSI. Whew!

Jeff is doing okay. The Bell's palsy has gone away, thankfully, and he remains on fairly short hours although he may have some overtime in the next few days. It's away from the office and not the sort of thing that makes him come running back to Springfield, thankfully. Today he's been in Florence and Charleston, off on the coast. He's been thoroughly enjoying it all.

The girls are doing wonderfully!!! Folks on facebook know how proud I am of my girls. Emily is starting to totally take control of her choices and knows now to leave at 8 a.m. so she's at school on time. Sophie is working hard to keep herself neater and really made an effort yesterday when she found out she had lunch before school pictures. LOL. I've backed off a lot this year on some things... it's just super important that they understand that Mommy can't always be there for everything (darn it) and they have to take responsibility for their choices and be aware of the world around them. Part of me is crying, but the rest of me is glad and thinking I should have done this sooner. LOL.

So that's it. Wanted to check in .