My mother had knee replacement surgery three weeks ago.  For the past 2 1/2 weeks she has been in a physical therapy rehab facility.  She had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics which caused her to be sick which cause her to be dehydrated.  The dehydration and the nausea meant that she had no filters in her system and the pain medicine built up in her system.  Friday night, my sister took her to the emergency room where she was given fluids.  The ER doctor changed her medication.  The next morning, she was a thousand times better.  I talked to her tonight and she is still feeling better.  She is scheduled to go home on Wednesday.  She cannot wait.  Even though she has been ill, her therapy is working. 

Someone asked me a question about Queenie.  Queenie is not her real name, but I will not disclose that.  She deserves her privacy.  She was given that nickname by a coworker.  The coworker and I, along with Queenie were executive assistants in the same area.  The coworker and I worked hard every day while Queenie sat around and did very little.  The coworker nicknamed her that because she sat around like a "Queen Bee".  Queenie also had an interesting wardrobe.  She dressed similar to Ugly Betty.  I think my grandmother would have referred to her outfits as "Get ups". 

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

Today, I had lunch with Queenie.  You remember Queenie.  We worked next to each other for years.  Now we work in the same building, but rarely see each other. 

I wore my black Pendleton Lana skirt, a red turtleneck swearer, black tights, Talbot's black suede flats (from a few years ago) and my new black Burberry quilted Westbury jacket...to the eat at the hot dog stand over by the bus station.  I enjoyed my outing.

I think I may be getting closer to being settled into my new job.  It has been hard.  I came from a job where I knew everything to a job where I only know a little bit.  I have the skill sets, I just need to learn the new company.  I don't want to brag too much about being comfortable.  I don't want to jinx myself. 

I hope everyone has a great Saturday.

It is hard for me to think about posting with so many people suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  It saddens me to see all of the devastation that Sandy left behind.  We all need to keep the victims in our thoughts and prayers.

I am about to get ready to go to church.  My 10 month old niece will be christened this morning.  A happy ending to a sad weekend.  My cousin passed away on Thursday and the funeral was yesterday.  He was a lot older than my sister and me, but my sister worked with him and was extremely close to him.  He has a son that is bad news but he promised my sister and I that he was going to straighten up and lead a life that his father will be proud of.  A day late and a dollar short, if you ask me, but at least he has a goal to be a normal person.  He's extremely smart and talented.

I think I may order a black Burberry Westbury jacket.  I've been wanting one for a long time and I think I may order it today.  I love the Burberry nova plaid and hate that it became too popular a few years ago.  I think the popularity has died down and I will be safe to sport my Burberry again.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday.  If you live on the east coast, please be weather aware and take precautions.  I don't think that this is a storm to ignore.

FYI - If you received a Belk's 20% Friends and Family coupon in the mail, you need to take advantage of it.  There are no exclusions.  Today, I was able to use it on Chanel cosmetics.  I used the coupon along with $40 in rewards.  I bought $135 worth of Chanel cosmetics for $68. One of the items was a box of Chanel No. 5 dusting powder which was $65.  It was almost like I got it free. I also was able to use it on Clinique.

Our family's hearts are breaking today.  My sister's best friend, Stephanie lost her battle with ovarian cancer.  Stephanie's daughter was a homecoming attendant last night.  A couple of hours later, Stephanie passed away.  She lived to see her daughter being presented at homecoming.  Her story is here.  Stephanie brought together a community.  People were praying for her who had never prayed before.  We will miss her sweet smile and her big blue eyes. 

I know, it has been a couple of weeks since I posted.  I've been busy getting ready to go out of town and then I was out of town for a few days.

BFF MAB and I went to Williamsburg for a few days.  I had a great time.  I didn't want to come home.   We stayed busy seeing the sights and going to programs.  We both were able to exercise some control over our eating while we were there.  We ate until we were satisfied and then stopped.  We planned our meals so that we could enjoy a dessert at only one meal  We also managed to work in some shopping.

I had some good luck in shopping.  We spent a couple of hours at the outlets.  At Kate Spade, I bought a pair of gold bow earrings and a pair of red/gold bow earrings.  I couldn't walk out of there without buying three bow bangles.  I bought gold, black/gold and kelly green/gold.  They were outlet priced plus 40% off.  At Talbot's, I bought five long sleeved tees.  The colors I bought are burgundy, rust, camel, olive green and gray.  At Pendleton, I bought a navy suit blazer, a navy jumper and two OCBD's - yellow and light blue.  At Brooks Brothers, I bought two blouses.

Most of the things that I bought I got in the historic area and in Merchant's Square.  I bought cardigans at Binn's, a Longchamp Le Pliage at Closet Envy, horn shaped candle holders at Williamsburg at Home.  Some pieces of tavern dishes at Greenhow's store.  I bought my niece a Hotch Potch doll at Tarpley's.  I can't wait to give it to her.  I almost forgot that I bought a black wool duffel coat and a Dress Stewart scarf at Scotland, Ltd.  I just love that store.

I know that I bought a lot of stuff, but I use my fall vacation to do my yearly shopping.

I hope everyone has a great Monday.  Happy Columbus Day!