Talked with my mom. Obviously my grandfather is going to have surgery September 9th to remove melanoma that they found on the back of his head. Sigh. I can't tell if it's not that serious, or if it's really serious and my mom just doesn't want to worry me this close to me getting my Master's.

Send good thoughts.

Today I managed to pay for a meal while my mom was visiting. This takes a lot of planning and cunning. My mom believes that if you visit her, she pays for all meals she invites you too. The problem is that she instilled this idea in my sister and I, but also believes that if she visits one of us, she should pay for our meals. Sigh. You can imagine what kind of battle this causes sometimes with the check.

But I managed to be sneaky, and get everyone's meal for lunch/dinner. HAH! I win. ^^

Today I went shopping with my mom. I a)got exactly what I was looking for and b)was not pressured into buying something I didn't want. I think this might have been a first. I basically got a bright green shirt to replace a shirt I had worn out, a dark blue jacket, and a pair of purple and black heels to go with another dress jacket. I also went and saw Up with my mom and grandfather.

Let's see if this continues or if my mom and I are ready to kill each other by the end of tomorrow.

Yesterday was spent cleaning the apartment because my family will be visiting next weekend and I am kind-of a slob without motivation. Especially when I'm scrambling to do other things. The apartment has been in a state that usually corresponds to the end of the semester, though it's been in that state for much longer than it should have been.

One of the things that I did was do a cleaning of my bathroom. This included putting out more than the two towels I usually use everyday (one for drying and a separate one for drying hair). Most times I clean the towels, stackthem in the linen closet, and then pull them out when I need them. This means that I tend to use the towels on the top of the stacks and almost never use the ones on the bottom.

Little did I know this was a problem.

( TMI warning of the kitty kind. )

This weekend will be spent cleaning because family will be in town next weekend. I did not get through revising my thesis today. Only six more pages to go, though I'll probably add another 1-2 pages in the process.

I am so tired right now... I feel like my brain might leak out my ears.

My citation list for my thesis has hit five pages and it's not done. Dear lord, self, STOP DOING RESEARCH. I'm still at 45 pages, but I've been doing some much needed editing and condensing. This is without the citations at the end, a couple of illustrations, the index, and my CV. So in actuality, my thesis has passed 50 pages and is racing towards 60 pages. And I'm not done writing.

When I get this off to my chairperson for initial comments, I am so taking a day off and slacking.

Also my mom and grandfather are coming up next weekend! Unfortunately, this means I'm going to be spending most of this weekend cleaning. Ah well. At least the thesis should with my committee by then so I'll have time to spend with them.

I was reading this article about Southern biscuits and rolls and how a lot of people are using pre-packaged rolls/biscuits instead of making them from scratch.

Now having lived in the North Carolina for several years and been around my family from that area, I can tell you one thing: bread is important. Most of the older generation will not serve a meal without bread. Usually this bread is in the form of biscuits (probably made with enough butter to give you a heart attack) or rolls, and to not serve some form of bread with the meal is anathema.

And if you serve them a meal without bread? It's doesn't happen. I have seen some of the older ladies and gentleman get sliced Wonderbread from a bag to serve at a table covered with very nice, very fancy food because there was no bread. Usually they try to be nice or gracious about it, like you've accidentally forgotten the bread and they don't want you to be embarrassed in front of others so they'll just get some for you and hope no one notices. Other times they'll just come out and ask why there's no bread with the meal.

What really got me laughing though, was this quote. It's gracious Southern passive-agressiveness at it's best.

“A part of the placidity of the South comes from the sense of well-being that follows the heart-and-body-warming consumption of breads fresh from the oven,” Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote in “Cross Creek Cookery” in 1942. “We serve cold baker’s bread to our enemies, trusting that they will never impose on our hospitality again.”

And yes, I have in fact watched one of my Aunts do this to a boy who was dating my cousin that she didn't like. In her opinion, he wasn't good enough for her to waste time making biscuits for. Nevermind that the biscuits in question were the frozen bake and serve variety. But she would never say something about it to him or her daughter. That would be rude. Not that we couldn't all figure out what she thought of the guy from her actions.

Oh family...

Last I talked with my mom, they were going to keep my grandfather on heavy sedation and a ventilator for at least 72 hours, slowly wean him off, and then assess the situation.

Less than 24 hours after his surgery he's off the ventilator, off sedation, sitting up, and cracking jokes with the medical staff.

I swear that old man is going to outlive us all. ^^

I'm feeling a little better this morning. I'm going to call my sister tonight and find out how my mom is and how my grandfather is doing. She'll give me the actual truth as opposed to my mom who will sugar coat everything so she doesn't "worry me." Hell, I'm surprised she even called me this time. In the past I haven't found out that my grandfather (or one of my other relatives) is in the hospital until weeks afterwards. miome and I might be making a emergency trip to Atlanta this weekend depending on what I hear.

At least the pounding headache I had last night is gone.

Also, it's always amusing when you get something that you think is a flame, but you can't tell if it is because it's so badly written. And includes a large chunk of quote story that isn't yours. o_O

My grandfather is in the hospital on a ventilator after having had major surgery this morning.
I didn't get a chance to call him on Father's Day. I was going to do it today.

Today is a truly craptastic Monday.

My mom and grandfather are both in town this weekend, so I'm going to be absent for a great deal of it. My goal: to not let my mom buy me another damn black skirt. I shall tell you on Sunday whether or not I succeed. Since I have mid-terms and projects due next week and I usually get very creative while I'm putting stuff off, I figured I'd try this meme:

Name three fics you think I will never, ever, ever write. In return, I will attempt to write a snippet of one of them.

Original or fanfiction. You guys can name three and I pick whichever of the three strikes my fancy. I'll put the results up next weekend.

Have fun. Be good. Don't do both at once. XD

It always makes my day when I call my sister up and sing her Happy Birthday. ^^