Listen! Do You Smell Something?

It's quiet here for the first time in 36 hours or so. My beautiful girls are zonked out, Doc is at the neighbor's house watching the game. I've got the Mythbusters marathon on and I'm listening to my stomach roll over onto itself.

About 2:00 p.m. the Groundhog's Day festivities began. We had a houseful: six under 15 years old and nine over 15 years old. We had food and drink and drink. I started out with Orange Crush and Vodka. I think I had three. I tried a quarter cup of Cherry Ale, which numbed my tongue on impact. I had a glass of wine and a Budweiser. That's a lot of booze for someone who doesn't usually drink. I'm hoping I didn't make a complete ass of myself. But everyone had silly hats on, so I'm thinking that I might have blended in to the crowd. Then again...

Here is a list of things I did:

• Drank
• Ate veggies
• Invitied my new neighbor over while wearing a black hat with a large red feather in it and a serape
• Got into a hot tub that was 112 degrees...requested passerbys drop ice chunks into it
• Tried to figure out the Spaudio system but was frustrated, causing much supressed mirth in my cohorts
• Called a co-worker and left a voice mail demanding he join us
• Got into the hot tub again, got too warm
• Exited the hot tub with my lovely sister-in-law to hike 25 yards through frozen grass, clamber onto the trampoline and jump
• Laid on the trampoline with my lovely sister-in-law and stared at the stars for a good 20 minutes...in wet bathing suits
• Returned to the hot tub
• Called it a night
• Woke up at least 4 times to chug 3 glasses of water each time, finally and biolgically understanding the meaning behind the song "How dry I am"
• Finally gave up trying to sleep at 5 a.m. and watched Columbo and Murder She Wrote
• Hung out with my neice when she woke up at 7 a.m. and proclaimed everyone should be up by now
• Felt pretty good as I helped my lovely sister-in-law toast the homemade waffles and English muffins she brought
• Played Pirate Dice
• Got suddenly and violently sick to my stomach
• Dozed off for an hour
• Woke up to the smell of tuna fish salad (does Doc hate me?)
• And ran to the back of the house and hid my head under the blankets until the nausea subsided
• Coaxed the girls in to snuggle with me
• Sent Doc on his way to the party
• Ate four potato chips and had a few sips of Diet Coke (sans Mentos...though, as I learned today: Mentos and Diet Coke will not make your stomach rupture, but I'm not taking any chances)
• Took Depeche Mode's advice and enjoyed the silence.

So, perhaps I didn't blend it; it is not my lot. But I had a blast and I don't think I was a huge jerk. I still have to confirm this completly with Doc, but hopefully, I have enough goodwill in the bank that folks will give me a pass. At any rate, I've been punished. My feet have been shredded by the ice. My knees are abraded from climbing on to an ice-encrusted trampoline. My hands are cut up as well. I've bruised my hips and my hair has taken on a life of its own. Don't worry, though; it promised to write often. One thing I didn't do, though, was watch the movie Groundhog's Day.

I think you all need to join us next year. Clear your calendar and figure out how to get yourselves here for the best party you'll never fully remember.