My Christmas

I do hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I've been mostly out of commission for the better part of a week. Oddly I had full access to a computer to read blogs, but I was a wee bit busy, and I just needed a break. Christmas at my house went well. We all made out with some pretty good loot. We all spoiled Granny. It was our first Christmas without Granddad, which I know was hard for all of us. I made out with a couple of gift cards (whoohoo! shopping spree!), some new measuring cups/spoons, new pajama bottoms, a nice hat rack and a utility shelf for my laundry/mud room (trust me, I needed both! lol), a new coat, Part 2 of Deathly Hallows (I totally see a HP marathon in my future . . . Frisky, Jewels, Hazel - you up for it?? lol), a couple of necklaces, a nice hamper, and the big Santa gift was a 32" flat screen TV. I. Was. Floored.

Here's the funny bit. Christmas Eve, my dad at some point asked, "Do you know what Santa's bringing you?" I was completely sarcastic and goofy and said, "A flat screen TV?" I'm not sure how he kept his cool, considering it was hiding in the garage at that very moment. It's rare that Santa can shock me much anymore, but he did this year. I was so shocked, I actually started crying and repeating, "That's not what's in the box, right?" However, I cannot lift my TV as it's a 27" TV with a really big butt behind it. So my new TV is sitting in it's box.

I took Libby home for Christmas, and everyone adhered to the strict instructions of keeping her quiet. I was continuing her antibiotics and pain meds while at my parents house. K had suggested that I give her the pills in butter, because she's now anti-hot dog, which is how we were giving her the pills before. As gross as it sounds, it actually worked. For two whole days. By Monday night, she puked everything up, and that was it. She was supposed to be on the meds for 10 days, and it was like 9 days at that time, so I just said I was done with it. The last two times we gave her the pills, I wound up with dog slime all over my clothes. This dog is the absolute worst at taking any kind of medication. My cat is better. And her teeth and claws are ten times sharper. But, she is doing better. She uses the leg once in a while, but I've discovered it depends on the surface. Like she doesn't like my backyard, but she'll use it on concrete, the carpet, and gravel/rock. Weird. I brought her back with me so Dr. J could take a look at her, and hopefully decide to go back in to put that anti-rotational stitch back in next week. No such luck. He wanted to give her another 10 days and check on it again. So, tomorrow I'm meeting Dad and doing the Libby hand-off so she can be home for a week. He'll be back up here on business at the right time, which turned out perfect. Poor little dog. I did get the evil eye a few times, as one of my parents would have the dog in their laps and she wouldn't sit still and kept trying to get to me. Yeah. I think the dog is starting to get a little too attached to me. Mom keeps saying I'm getting attached . . . .

 I'm not seeing that at all. Nope. Not me.

Oh, I did try my very first peppermint latte on Christmas Eve, thanks to one of the techs. Here was the result of my taste test:

Definitely not a coffee drinker. At. All.

The day after Christmas I got to have lunch with two friends. After lunch one friend had to get back to watch her daughter while other family members ran errands. So my BFF and I hung out the rest of the afternoon. It was awesome. It had been right around six months since we'd seen each other. I'm so happy for her - she finally got a job after months of searching. She finally gets good benefits, retirement, her own office, the whole nine yards. We talked and talked and then talked some more. Oh and we hugged.

Libby Update

Alright folks, here's the 4-1-1 on my mom's little Yorkie, Libby. (if you need reminders of Libby and her situation please go here and here.)

Dr. J called me about 8am today to let me know what was going on. He's kept her at the clinic since Monday when Mom stopped in to have him look at it. He told me that she's using her leg a little, but that he really wanted to keep her until the infection goes away and the inflammation goes down so that he can figure out what's going on and what to do about her knee. He asked how Mom would handle that. I just sighed and told him she missed her dog, but that I would talk to her. He then asked me when I was going home for Christmas to which I replied, on Saturday after work (we work until noon on Christmas Eve). He told me I could take Libby home on Saturday but that he really wanted me to bring her back. I had really been hoping he'd bring Libby over with him today (Wednesday) so that she could stay at my place until I went home this weekend. No such luck.

I got off the phone with Dr. J and called Mom. Considering she had sent me a text at like 6:30 a.m. saying "You bring my puppy home NOW", she didn't like what Dr. J told me. She understood his reasons, but she misses her dog. I knew me relaying the information would probably bring her to tears, and I hate seeing or hearing my Mom cry. Because it makes me cry. I can't handle it. But even though she misses her dog, she understood why Dr. J wanted to keep her and that in the end, it would be best if she stayed up here.

During the day at the Sticksville clinic, Dr. J told me again how upset he is that Libby's recovery hasn't gone as planned. He feels horrible that this is going on, and wants to make it right. One of the tech's called during the day and relayed an update to Dr. J and it was: Libby was using her leg a little bit, she pooped this morning (which is a good thing because all the medicines she's on can make her constipated), they gave her some fluids, but she's not really eating much. I told them that she'd been eating pretty well at home, so it might be that she's just upset about being in a strange place.

Before Dr. J left for the main clinic around 5 p.m., I asked him how much it was going to cost keeping Libby at the clinic all this time. He shrugged and said, "Nothin'. Maybe just enough to cover cost, but, don't worry about it."

He called me during dinner, after having just checked up on her. He told me that she's using the leg a little still, but that he figured out it was the anti-rotational stitch he put in that she broke. Here's what went down: A few days to a week after her knee surgery, she jumped off a chair before anyone could get to her. It was then that things started to slowly unravel. He and I have been able to piece this together - when she jumped off the chair, she must have broken the stitch. The suture then must have started irritating her because that's about the time she started digging into her sutures, thereby getting it infected and inflamed. He was able to pull the stitch out, because the swelling had pushed the suture up to where it was visible in her open wound. That and it was loose, which it shouldn't have been. The reason for the anti-rotational stitch was two fold: first, to keep that knee cap in place; second, to prevent her lower leg from turning inward (in a sense, making her bow-legged).

He then gave me two options to relay to my parents. Option 1 is to go back in (once the swelling has gone down and the infection is gone) and put that anti-rotational stitch back in. I offered the idea of keeping her leg bandaged after that operation and keeping the Cone of Shame on her so it limits her mobility so she won't go jumping off furniture. When I asked how much that would cost, Dr. J told me he'd do it at cost, for about $100. (realize that "at cost" includes covering anesthetics, suture material, bandaging if needed, and medicine - and still that would be coming off cheap). Option 2 is to find a city vet who will charge an outrageous amount to do a procedure that I can't remember the name of, but basically they would put a pin in the leg to keep it straight and keep that knee cap in place. (Unfortunately, my vets don't do that procedure here). Dr. J said that if my parents chose this option he would write them a $300 check (refunding half of what the original surgery and medicine cost).

After dinner I called my parents and talked to them about these options. Of course, this brought Mom to tears again, which of course triggers a chain reaction. While my parents hate the fact that Libby is in a strange place, they know it's where she should be. They've chosen option 1. Mom is afraid that Libby will forget who she is. Well, we all know that's not possible. Dogs never forget their parents.

Tomorrow (Thursday) morning I'll call Dr. J and let him know, and I'm going to try to drive over the mountain tomorrow and visit Libby. I'll take her some treats, and maybe see about finding some of her food in a store and see if she'll eat that away from home.

We (my parents and myself) want to thank you again for all your love and support and good wishes towards Libby. We all want her home as soon as humanly possible, but realize that might take some time. Please keep our little dog in your thoughts and please continue to send some good mojo her way.

I will keep you guys updated as I know stuff.

Postcards and Thank You's

With everything else going on, I nearly forgot to send out a bloggy thank you to my friend Jewels for the postcard she sent this month. She hand-made hers, which I think rocks and makes them super-cool. I'm so not that talented!

If you're curious about the postcard campaign, there's a link at the top of the page. It's all about spreading some simple yet wonderful mailbox happiness. Seriously, who doesn't love getting something besides junk mail and bills? To sign up, shoot me an email with your information, and that's all you need to do. Each month I announce the next blogger on the list who gets to send out postcards for the next month. For those of us that receive the postcards, we write up a little thank you in a post, include a picture of the postcard if you wish, and also link to them and me. But . . . it's time to announce the next sender! For January, the next blogger to send out postcards is:

Alessandra over at The Life and Times of A. Nighbert

(I will send you the addresses on January 1st)

Also, for those participating in the Postcard campaign, you also found a little something extra in your mailboxes this month. I sent out Christmas cards to everyone on the list, and most of you guys have already sent me messages thanking me. I just wanted to send you guys a little extra thank you for joining me in the crazy idea I had this past summer. Without you, it doesn't exist. I am enjoying it immensely, and I hope all of you are, too.

And before I forget, my mother wanted me to tell all of you who have commented on the post about Libby's infection THANK YOU. Thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers, and good mojo. Please keep it coming in hopes that our little Yorkie can walk normal again.

I think Libby may need some Christmas Mojo

I had a crazy day on Saturday, yet I can hardly recall it. Saturday Mom showed up with Libby for Dr. D to take a look at her leg. She showed up just before lunch, because we were going to have lunch before the appointment at 1:15. Dr. D took a look at it after lunch and found it to be infected. He wrapped it up and refilled the pain meds, the anti-inflammatory meds, and put her on a stronger antibiotic. After work was our office Christmas dinner at the Italian restaurant in town, and Mom was my plus one. I invited her because she didn't get to come up for Libby's surgery after Thanksgiving, and I knew she could use a girl's weekend. The dinner was good and we had a good turnout.

Sunday, my grandparents had given me the day off, so I promptly slept until 10am. Mom and I baked cookies - oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, and frosted sugar cookies. YUM!!!! Mom and I also had a little flour fight and . . . 

And I totally won. ;o)

Today (Monday), I went to work over the hill to help with inventory. And let me just say, I'm sooooo over this whole counting thing. I was on my feet for 8 hours, probably walked 5 miles - I'm POOPED. Anyway, Mom brought Libby in for Dr. J to see her. He didn't like the way it was looking, and he does wonder if she's having a reaction to the suture. See, to help keep her knee cap in place, he ran a non-dissovable suture around the knee cap and secured it to a bit of knobby bone on the femur. He's only had one dog in his experience that had a reaction to that suture. However, Libby has not been a very good patient. She managed to dig at the surgery site and tear out a suture. We're hoping that's the infection - external rather than internal. But it ain't pretty folks.

Dr. J asked that Libby stay close for the week so he can monitor her leg. My mom was near tears leaving Libby. Later in the afternoon, Dr. J asked me to leave Libby at the clinic and if it looked like it was starting to heal he'd bus her over to Sticksville on Wednesday. We re-wrapped her leg, and hopefully it will start to show signs of healing.

So I'm asking if y'all can send some good Christmas mojo out for little Libby so that her knee heals up and they don't have to re-do anything.

 

Happiness Survey

I completely stole this from The Frisky Virgin, who stole this from another blogger. Seems like a lot of blog stealing goin' 'round.

What makes you happy?

My family and friends. Finding the time to read or watch a whole movie with no interruptions - especially if that includes popcorn and M&M's. 

What was your childhood like?

I had an awesome childhood. My only issue was that I didn't have a younger sibling to blame stuff on, so I really couldn't get away with much.

What was your first crush like?

Yeah, I doubt he knew. I don't remember much except his name. The really freaky part? Ten years after I last saw him (when I was about 8), he winds up sitting two seats behind me in a math class at Shasta College. At first I just thought, oh well, I'm sure there are several people in Redding with that name. Until he mentioned the town he was from. My only hope was that when he heard my name in roll call he had no idea who I was. Only because I wound up failing the class because I suck at calculus. Mort.If.Ied.

Did you ever have a celebrity crush? What was that like?

Did I ever have a celebrity crush? Do I breathe air? My longest lasting celebrity crush is Harrison Ford - I loved watching Indiana Jones! And even though he's well into his sixties, he's still sexy. However, I also adore Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Colin Firth (as Mr. Darcy, of course), Russell Crowe, and James McAvoy to name a few.

What was it like? Duh. If any of these men had half a brain they'd come find me. However, I can admire from afar.

Do you like sports?

Yep. I love going to Giants baseball games! Just don't make me watch golf.

Have you ever done sports?

 

I did cross-country and track, as well as some volleyball.  

What kind of music do you like?

I'm a big country fan, but I will listen to most anything except heavy metal or most rap.

What instruments do you play?

Um, yeah, I'll leave that to those with musical talent.

Did you like school?

Yep. As tough as it was sometimes, I preferred college because I could more or less choose my class load. A piece of advice - don't ever take 5 lab classes in one semester. You will be far too busy to breathe.

What is your favorite color and why?

Purple is my favorite color. My guess is that it's my favorite because it's also my birthstone.

Do you like where you're living?

Yes! I'm loving in here in Sticksville. It's so much better than Sacramento!

If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?

Hogwarts! ;o)

What was your favorite book growing up and what is your favorite now?

I was obsessed with the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. Read those things a million times over. And it's why my favorite horse is the Arabian. And why my first horse was an Arabian. Anyway, now . . . oh, how can I choose?!?!?!?! I love the Harry Potter books. I love Kathy Reichs' books (the inspiration for the show Bones). I love Jane Austen's novels, mostly Pride & Prejudice, and I even enjoy the sequels by Sharon Lathan.

What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything else?

42!! LOL  Oh and be careful with the Improbability Drive, you'll wind up being a sofa.

Do you know where your towel is?

Yes. I wear it as a scarf now because it's cold.

The goings on

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm too pooped to blog. But I'm attempting it anyway. I've been wanting to blog since this past weekend, but I've been busy. Okay, Sunday I admit I was lazy. Very lazy. My grandmother gave me Sunday off, and since it's pretty rare for me to get a day off from all three jobs, I did absolutely NOTHING. Well, minus a bit of laundry and some minor cleaning and decorated my Christmas tree. Other than that, I'm not sure you could have paid me to do much else. The minor cleaning and the laundry were only done because my butt went numb from sitting on the couch. And I had nothing to wear.

Anyway, here's what's been goin' on:

On Saturday, I got to job 3 in Town and saw we were booked solid with appointments starting around 9am. I had an hour so I figured I would decorate the office Christmas tree. I had noticed that the weekday girls hadn't had time to decorate it. Since the vet was out on an early ranch call between 8 and 9, I figured that would be my only time to get it done. So, here's my office masterpiece:

 It's kind of a lopsided little tree. And little really is the wrong word to use, as I had to use a chair to put ornaments up top. But it does have character. And I kind of enjoyed decorating it. I've never worked at a job that had a tree to decorate, so this was a first.

During lunch, Mom relayed some not-so-great news. Our old dog, Katie (she's about 17) had to be taken to the vet for some routine blood work to monitor her kidney function because she's on a nice cocktail of drugs. She doesn't like being touched much anymore, so getting her into a vehicle to get to the vet's office is quite the ordeal. During the exam, the vet discovered Katie has a tumor on her spleen. He gave her two or three months left with us, meaning this will be her last Christmas with us.

After work, I raced over to the one store in town that was selling Christmas trees. I had thought of buying my tree when I was in Redding at the first of the month, but I had bundles of the publication in my car, plus my Christmas and regular shopping and I figured my car was full enough. They had like 5 trees left on Saturday evening, and none of them were short. I usually get a little 3 or 4 footer, but I wound up getting a 6 foot tree. Yeah, it's the biggest tree I've ever bought myself. And my decorations are small - both in number and in size!

The tree literally took up my entire car. Like, I had the top of the tree sitting between the front seats. And when I got home, I had to figure out how to get in my house. It wasn't going to fit through the back door. Or the front door. (Obviously I did not think this tree through) I figured the sliding glass door was my best bet, right into my living room. So I hauled that 6 foot tree to the front porch, barely made it up the steps with the tree. And it still took me awhile to get the tree through the sliding glass door. Then I had to figure out my stupid Christmas tree stand. It was rather annoying with all these little screws. And let's face it, trying to get a 6 foot tree straight when you're the only person isn't all that easy. I now know from experience. I also must have eaten several pine needles and the branches tried to be super nice by combing my hair for me. I came out of the tree looking like I had stuck my finger in a light socket and was spitting pine needles for the rest of the night.

As I said earlier, my grandmother was super nice and gave me Sunday off, meaning I didn't have to be up at the butt-crack of dawn to go feed cows in the freezing weather. I slept for 12 blissful hours - waking up at 1oam Sunday morning. I decorated my tree and here's how it turned out:

Yes, those are very tiny ornaments on that tree. I discovered that I'm going to need some bigger ornaments (tasteful) if I'm going to wind up with such trees anymore. There's big hole in the back that has absolutely no ornaments because I ran out! Oh well. It gives it character, right? (please say yes)

On Tuesday I went to Town to the main clinic for the annual "Girls Luncheon". The office manager ordered pizza, and all of us girls bring a gift for a gift exchange. There are nine gals working in for the clinic, and the gal who runs the clinic in Big Valley also came. It was a nice lunch and we all got nice presents. The gift exchange went like this: we all drew numbers, and the person who drew #1 went first to pick a present, the person who drew #2 could either pick a present from the pile or steal the present #1 picked out. And so forth. Only one person stole a present. And never fear, the person who had the present stolen got to pick another present from the pile. Then I had to drive back over the mountain to work at my clinic for the afternoon and start on inventory. UGH.

Today (Wednesday), I had Dr. J talk to Mom about Libby - in the last couple days, she's stopped using her leg they did surgery on to fix her luxating patella on her left leg (floating or moving knee caps). Mom was concerned as Libby wasn't acting quite normal. Since Dr. J will be out of town for the rest of the week to be with his mother during a medical procedure, he wanted Dr. R to take a look at her, since he assisted with the surgery, so he knows the case. Dr. J found out that the pain pill supply has run dry and that's when her attitude changed, so he's thinking that she's playing the wussie card. They have enough of the anti-inflammatory/pain pills til the weekend. Dr. R won't be at the Big Valley Clinic like usual tomorrow, even though I'm trying to get ahold of him to see if he can pop by between cattle work or at least maybe okay a refill of the pain meds through the weekend. Either way, Mom is bringing Libby up on Saturday, but Mom said that Libby is already acting better after taking the anti-inflammatory medication.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I will probably have to work extra hours to finish the inventory at my clinic. I want to have it done so I can put it on the office manager's desk on Saturday. Plus next Monday I'll be going to the main clinic to help them with their portion of inventory so they can hopefully get it done faster.

Somewhere in there I've wrapped presents, have to write stories for the publication, and make sure my house is "Mom-Approved" by Saturday. Along with my normal feeding and work schedule. There are seriously not enough hours in the day. Tonight (Wed.) I was going to do house cleaning stuff, but I'm seriously pooped and I just needed to sit down. And blog. 

 

Two Quick Book Reviews

I just finished an excellent book. And yes, I'm going to tell you which one it is.

It's called Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline. I didn't want to put it down. Unfortunately, I have three jobs so sitting and reading for 12 hours isn't going to find room on my schedule. I love my sleep far too much. Although, I have risked no sleep in order to read a book. I admit, it was the final Harry Potter book. It's pathetic, but I just had to know how it ended. Needless to say I was exhausted the next day at work, but I was happy knowing the ending.

I digress.

Here's the synopsis for Think Twice:

Bennie Roasato looks exactly like her identical twin, Alice Connelly, but the darkness in Alice's soul makes them two very different women. Or at least that's what Bennie believes - until she finds herself buried alive at the hands of her twin. Meanwhile, Alice takes over Bennie's life, impersonating her at work and even seducing her boyfriend in order to escape the deadly mess she has made of her own life. But Alice underestimates Bennie and the evil she has unleashed in her twin's psyche. Soon Bennie, in her determination to stay alive long enough to exact revenge, must face the twisted truth that she is more like Alice than she could have ever imagined....and by the novel's shocking conclusion, Bennie finds herself engaged in a war she cannot win - with herself.

And yes it's as good as it sounds. If I could have sat down on the couch for a day, I would have finished this book in that time frame.

About a year ago is I discovered this gal, by reading another book of hers called Look Again. This book was excellent. I was left guessing until the very end, and cried. When my mom saw me reading it, she looked it over and asked me to loan it to her when I was done. I saw the book a year or so later. After it had gone through my mom's circle of friends. Yes, folks, it was that good of a book. Here's the synopsis of Look Again:

When Ellen Gleeson gets a "Have You Seen This Child?" flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops. The child in the photo looks exactly like her adopted son, Will. Everything inside her tells her to deny the similarity between her son and the boy in the photo, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she's a journalist and won't be able to stop thinking about the photo until she gets to the truth. And she can't shake the question: If Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? Ellen makes the wrenching decision to investigate, uncovering clues no one was meant to uncover. And when she she digs too deep, she risks losing her life - and that of the son she loves.

Seriously. A must read.

And tonight I'll start another book, The Help. I heard the movie was awesome, so I'm assuming the book is, too. I'll let y'all know!

Go read those books. You'll thank me later.  :o)

Christmas Shopping, Pet-Sitting, and Piss-poor Spanish Skills

Sunday was my day to deliver the publication down to Redding. I woke up around 6am, and was packed and loaded with the publication and on the road by 7:30. Not bad. However, it was about 15*F here, and 12*F over the hill when I gassed up. (That's about -9*C and -11*C). Yep. Cold. Fortunately the roads were not icy.

I pulled into Redding around 11, had lunch with Mom and then spent the entire afternoon Christmas shopping. Mom usually helps me buy stuff for everyone in the family, because I never know what to get my grandparents or my aunt and uncle. My parents I can sometimes think of something on my own, but not always. Plus, it's always a good excuse for the two of us to enjoy some quality Mother-Daughter time. We tend to have a few good laughs. The kind that make other patrons either look at us funny, or make comments like, "It's nice to see such a relationship". Usually it's the former.

We started off at Target, visited Kohl's, paid homage to Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Pier One, World Market, the mall for a soda and a Godiva chocolate bar while we shopped, a beauty store, back to Target, off to Lowe's, and then it was pizza for dinner - take out. While in Bed, Bath, & Beyond, we were making silly comments on things, and giggling. At one point, my mom picked up this tiny Santa Suit saying it was the perfect size for Libby, although the hat was just way too small. I always roll my eyes when my mom picks up doggy clothes because I don't necessarily thing dogs need clothes. However, I will give my mom props for not buying Libby anything blinding, embarrassing, or just plain hideous. As we were staring at this particular Santa suit, it suddenly dawns on us that it's a wine bottle hugger. We both started laughing. To the point of tears and worried we may pee our pants. After that, every time we saw a "wine bottle hugger" we started giggling uncontrollably.

I got all but Mom done on Sunday, and then I went back into town Monday morning to buy something for her, run my errands and continue my delivery route.

I got home in Sticksville around 7pm-ish. I unloaded everything into my living room, repacked my over-night bag with my work clothes, grabbed my work coat and muck-boots and ran back out the door. Our neighbors, the H's were gone for a couple nights and had asked me to house-sit again. Luckily their ranch hand was going to take care of the sheep this time, and all I really had to do was look after one dog and a few cats. It was so freaking cold I slept with the heater on high all night. But when they're gone, they prefer someone be there at night to make sure everything is okay. I woke up, fed the dog and cats, and sped off to feed cows at my grandparents ranch by 7am this morning. I got a call from the H's this evening telling me they were heading home and to just make sure the one dog is in on the porch where it's warm. They should be home by now. So my two nights of pet-sitting turned into one.

Today at work at the Sticksville clinic, I called the main clinic to go over appointments for tomorrow. The girl started rattling off stuff and I was like, "Whoa! I have appointments during those times" and got a reply of, "You do?" Anyway, the vet will be running round to a few ranches working some cows. I had to call and reschedule a few appointments. Everyone was fine with it and understood. I feel horrible doing that, but according the main clinic, these ranches all called this week and said this cattle work had to be done this week. I'm quite sure they knew this stuff was coming down the pike, so I'm a little clueless as to how all of a sudden they're realizing they were running out of time. Anyhoo, one client I had to call is Hispanic and I know the adults in the family don't speak much English. Their kids do, and usually one of them is present when they come in the clinic to help translate. I nearly had a panic attack calling this gal because my high school Spanish is bad. Like, really bad. I mean, I can introduce myself, ask how you are and reply, thank someone, ask where the bathrooms are, and apologize (all of it very slowly). That's about it. So, here's how my conversation went with this very nice Hispanic lady:

Lady: Bien.

Me: Hola. Habla ingles?

Lady: No.

Me: shit. Um, me llamo Jamie . . . from the vet clinic?

Lady: Oh, si.

Me: you can do this-you can do this-I can't do this!! Um . . . para Marshmellow?

Lady: Si! says something and then . . . 1:30?

Me: Si. Um . . . okay, pero. . . I don't know the words! I should know this! Um . . . is 1:00 okay?? sigh. shake head. utter shame.

Lady: Oh si! Okay. 1:00.

Me: sigh of relief. Oh muchas gracias!

Lady: De nada. Adios.

I swear, my high school Spanish teacher would die of a coronary after hearing that.