Day 2 of December

It's December 15, so only 10 more days til Christmas - am I ready - no, but that's part of the Christmas spirit......I've been told!
  You would think people would be so busy getting ready for Christmas (or the end of the world) that they wouldn't be looking for a blog to read........ but some people are just too organized (or bored)
  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  December 8th was Bill's company Christmas party.  Once again it was being held at the Banff Springs Hotel - my favorite place in Banff.  It was a very disappointing event for me.  Check in was at 4:00 pm and we didn't leave Calgary until 3:30ish.  By the time we got to the hotel, there was no parking left - 500 parking spots and they were all full.  The attendant happen to find us a spot near the garbage disposal, which actually turned out to be closer than the parking garage.  We entered the hotel to discover a line up that could match a Disney ride in California.  Apparently there were 8 oil company Christmas parties being held in the hotel that same night.  Despite the long line up, the wait went quite fast.  Bill finally made it to the front of the line, only to discover our room was just being cleaned as we registered.  Another wait, but again, it went by fast.  And then it happened........ Bill's phone rang - could it be the kids?  Nope!  Maybe some relatives?  Nope!  It was work... Wait, wasn't everyone from work at the party?  Apparently not.  So as Bill is talking on the phone, we check into our room (which turned out to be a wonderful suite), I got dressed, I dressed Bill and we headed down for supper.  Now the problem at work needed more resources, so Bill had to search out for "help".  Normally I would mingle and greet people, but I didn't know a soul.  So I did what any good wife would do - I grabbed a glass of bubbly that went by on the tray and waited... and waited....and waited.  Finally it was time to sit down for dinner.  Thankfully I found our table and seats and eventually Bill joined the table.  He was able to eat each course, and finish up the work inbetween the courses.  The smile on my face was no stuck and the muscles were getting sore.  I asked Bill if after dinner, I could go to the room and relax.  And that's how I spent the rest of my night; curled up on the comfortable bed, in my comfy pj's, watching the TV and reading.  I think Bill finally made it back to the room around 3:00 a.m.  I'm glad he was able to get in some fun time - and wouldn't you know there were no more work problems after I left!!!!
  We got up Sunday morning, had brunch in the hotel and headed home.  Now how I would normally spend a day and evening at the Banff Springs Hotel, but hey, it wasn't my Christmas party.
  On Thursday, I took the kids (the ones I work with) on a field trip to the mall to see Santa.  Talk about an amazing day.  The kids have never really been in a mall before and had never seen Santa.  Well all three did wonderful.  Miss J climbed onto Santa's lap and just got comfy cozy and wasn't in any hurry to leave.  All three kids were amazing and very well behaved.
  I arrived home Thursday to find a couple messages from the seniors home when Mom is at.  Seems they had some concerns, as Mom wasn't herself.  She was confused and her memory was worse than norma.  I went over to visit her after supper, only to find her sitting on her bed, trying to put on clothes on the wrong part of her body.  She was very agitated.  The nurses were concerned she either had an infection or vascular dementia.  Her blood pressure was way to high and her legs were quite swollen. It was very hard for me to watch, but I  can only imagine how awful it must have been for mom.  They were finally able to get mom's blood pressure down, and by Friday morning, they had confirmation that she did in fact have an infection.  I took her to her doctors to get some prescriptions filled.  I tried explaining to mom was had happened the day before, but she wouldn't believe me and thought everyone was concerned over nothing.  It was an exhausting 24 hours.
  So Friday night, I did what any good wife (oops, I mean daughter) would do, I headed to the local pub with my girlfriend Rose for wings and nachos (and a couple of coolers - couple equals 5, right). We were well planned - Rose's son dropped us off, and Ashley picked us up.   It was a fun night.  I really did need to unwind - I had spent the past couple of days negotiating with 2 years olds and an 89 year old.  (and sometimes a 23 year old)
  So today I spent most of the day finishing off a couple of Christmas presents, and clearning off my desk.  I'm scared to see how high the laundry pile is.  I'm wondering if I should get an assistant.... (hahahah)
Anyway better get dressed, as we're heading out for dinner with Anne and Brian. 
Stacey