Do I hear three hundred?

So last night was going to be quiet and relaxing, another night in front of Netflix's goodness. Disc 2 of Arrested Development Season 1 arrived, and we were going to have dinner and watch the whole thing and go to bed early.

But then this furniture store down here right by my work was advertising an auction, and I just had to go. It started at 6:30 and I got off work at 5:45, so instead of going home and coming back I ran an errand and went to the auction. And it was FUN. I love auctions-- the thrill of the bargaining, the atmosphere of excitement... it was fun. I was hoping to snag an 8 by 10 rug in the khaki/neutral family for $300 or less... high hopes, no dice. Everything was dark, expensive, or had lots of fringe- ugh. But the prices were amazing-- couches and loveseats for $450, oriental rugs originally priced at $20,000 went for $2,000! If I had means and way to sell, I would have snagged a few. But alas, there were no good deals for me.

So I went home and we had our relaxing evening minus the going-to-bed-early part. I made up some quick fajita chicken and onions and peppers-- yummm-- which I put in corn tortillas (note to self: corn tortillas fall apart real fast) and smart Brad put over a salad. Guess whose hands were cleaner after the meal. While we ate and for the rest of the night we watched the whole dvd-- I think I got to bed around 11:30 p.m. I'm a bit yawny today, though it has been quite a busy day already. Boss is here and we've just had a heated discussion about streamlining a few processes around here-- instead of just saying "jump" and expecting me to jump, howsabout if we put "jump" on the list of things I do every other Thursday, thereby allowing me to get other work done. Ok, so it was about jumping, but rather about examining insurance certificates, something I'm pretty sure Satan invented. I'm sure there's a little room in hell where people have to examine the certificates of each vendor and then call and ask for eensie weensie details to be fixed, get no response after faxing monthly, and then get blasted when they withhold payments. It's a tedious process which is actually a little bit enjoyable if there's nothing else on the docket for the day. Just takes concentration. Which is why I should do it twice a month instead of whenever boss decides to cut checks, which could be as often as every few days. (end rant)

Tonight we're having dinner at TGIFriday's with a couple from our former housegroup. They're due with their first baby next month and we haven't seen them in a while. I'm excited to have some friend time and also to try the new Friday's menu-- the pick-three-things-menu they keep advertising looks yummy. It's really noisy at our Friday's so we never go, but the other couple picked it so we'll go. I'm happy about that. I'm also happy about Sean and Jeannie's new little bowling ball, set to arrive any minute now. (She said it felt like a bowling ball, so I'm not being rude.) I just hope they name it something bowling-esque, like Biff or Lucille or something.

In other news, my sister who was diagnosed with Crohn's a few weeks ago is at the doctor today. I'm just sick about all she's going through and wish I could cast it into a herd of pigs. She's trying to be a full time teacher to the largest classroom in her school with eight severely autistic kids and a terribly unhelpful aid and incompetent administration, all the while dealing with constant pain and discomfort and unpleasantries of various types. Today she gets bloodwork and an x-ray and hopefully some relief from her latest flare-up. Meanwhile she's trying to get the insurance company to approve her new ongoing treatments for Crohn's-- apparently she gets an i.v. treatment every three weeks for a while, then every four weeks, building up to every 8 weeks, for life. If she ever stops taking the treatments she can never take them again-- her body will have built up resistance to it that can never be undone. It's supposed to be really powerful and helpful and the sooner she can get it, the better. We just have to wait for the insurance suits to get to that pile on their desk. You'd never know it to talk to her-- she's quite cool and collected, but please pray for her when she comes to mind. Many of you know chronic irritation and can sympathize. It's just not fun at all.

I'm headed up to Chi-town this weekend for a girls' weekend, sort of a comfort and support time for Steph. We're eating at Cheesecake Factory and getting massages and watching movies. I can't wait. I'm thinking of bringing supplies to make these homemade soft pretzels-- they look just amazing and so nice for a watching-movies snack. The pictures make me drool a little.

Back to work for me for now. Tomorrow I'll post about the surprise. :)