Mania...

Sometimes, when you live in the mountains and your husband-to-be goes away for the weekend, you are totally SCREWED if the power goes out, causing an inability in your alarm clock to wake you up for work. Sometimes, you wake up, and you think, "Hmmm...it's a little too light out for my liking." And you notice that EVERY digital clock in your house is a big, black, blank screen. And you jump off the couch (where you were sleeping in front of the now-silent air conditioner) and fumble for you cell phone and realize that it is 6:32, and you should have left for work, well, 32 minutes ago. After throwing on some clothes (working at a job where you wear scrubs = SO good not to have to decide what to wear) and throwing your toothbrush and toothpaste in your purse (because the electric well pump needs some of that newfangled electricity to get the water to come out of your faucet), you hop in the car while frantically calling someone...ANYONE...at work (not always easy during the change of shift) to let them know that your morning has not been a good one and you will be there, at the earliest, at 7:15, which is a full half hour late. Damn that move up into the mountains, anyway.

Luckily, my coworkers are understanding and would prefer I arrive even later than that and also alive. Luckily, also, it was Sunday, so I was able to go a little heavier on the gas petal and not worry about cops so much and also there was no traffic. Luckily, as a final also, my day got better.

Yesterday, my friends, was my VERY FIRST BRIDAL SHOWER!!!! And there are also some tricky people in my life! TRICKY LIARS! However, it's okay because, man, I was surprised!

My baby sister turned 26 on Friday, and the Big Event of our Sunday was supposed to be dinner out for her birthday. She was to arrive at 6:00 or 6:30 at my parents', where I was going after work, and we were going to head out. I work closer to my parents' than to my house (again about the mountains), so I went to their house to shower (ah, the running water) and change and wait for her and her boyfriend and also Bill, who was out of town for the weekend. So I am sitting around reading the paper, and the phone rings. It's my parents' neighbor, Barb. Barb's son got married a few weeks ago, so when she invites us over to see the pictures of the wedding, fresh back from the photographer, I think nothing of it and report that we are on our way.

She meets us at the back door. We go into the house. I walk into the kitchen...and right into a trap. About fifteen members of our family of friends are standing in the kitchen, and I about fall over as they yell, "SURPRISE!" It's a party! It's for me (and Bill, who is still out of town...sneaky, sneaky man)!

Apparently, the birthday dinner was all a big ruse to get me down there and to lure an unsuspecting me into their trap of margaritas and merriment. I was, of course, touched and thrilled. After an initial moment of near hyperventilation and tears, we got down to the business of fiesta-ing, complete with margaritas and queso and fajitas and tacos and margarita cheesecake and frozen strawberry margarita pie. There were games. There were gifts. There were good times, had by all (especially me)! And at the end of the evening, there was an actual showing of the wedding pictures because they weren't actually lying to me (much)! I feel very lucky to have so many people who care about me.

Of course, no shower is complete without pictures...and those pictures had something to do with what I have done this morning. I noticed that the surprised and blushing bride, who was photographed walking into the ambush, was looking a little, um, wide across the beam. The camera adds ten pounds? Well, it had better add more like fifty because I was NOT happy with what I saw.

So this morning, I decided to get up and take a walk. Have I mentioned that I live in the mountains? Well, here in the mountains, they don't specialize in flat roadways. They specialize, instead, in neighborhoods where EVERY street goes uphill, and I don't know how I didn't walk all the way to heaven with all the uphills I was doing. It was dirty. It was ugly. It was wheeze-y. It was sweaty. It was forty-five minutes long, and although I felt great (tired) when I was done, it was definitely insult added to injury when I had to finish up the walk with a trek up my hellish driveway. Man, I can't wait to get that thing paved!

How was your weekend?