With all of the horrible economic news that blasts out of my radio and tv, I am already in a pessimistic mood. But yesterday I got an email alert from my local police that we had an armed robbery attempt at a local community bank. That scares the crap out of me, for two reasons.

Burglaries, in general, have been on the rise in our area, but most have been break-ins of parked cars. I fear that as joblessness goes up, so does desperation.

And secondly, there are two banks I visit in the neighborhood; one almost always with my daughter, because she has her savings account there. The first thing upon entrance is a receptionist desk. I doubt the cheery lady behind the circle of formica is packing heat along with the lollipops she gives out!

On another note, I am SO incredibly glad that this year, my family decided to do Pollyana/Secret Santa for adult gift-giving instead of the insane present pile we have done in years past. I got the wish list of the people assigned to me and my husband and with the bonus of free shipping coupon codes, I ordered gifts off the list in about 30 minutes online, and had them shipped to my moms house where I will wrap them in the days before Christmas.

I only now have a handful of gifts to buy: for the hubby, my 2 nephews and my mother-in-law.  I already jumped on a sale & free shiping offer a few weeks ago to get gifts for my daughter on their way to Pennsylvania for the Holidays.

Why on earth would I think that I could buy jeans - JEANS! - online/via catalog? My size has changed, and even with taking measurements, jeans are one of those things that has to be TRIED ON.

Anyway, in case things do move forward in terms of any surgeries, I am sticking with comfy-but-decent-looking knit pants (velour, cotton, fleece, etc) until I either happen upon some miracle jeans that fit and flatter at the right price, or until I lose weight and fit into some oldies I have stored in my attic.

Yesterday I had a procedure at my gyne office that finally allowed my doctor and me to know the source of my various symptoms - a polyp and submucosal fibroid.

The type of fibroid I have is (possibly) removeable via myomectomy with hysteroscope - a procedure my Dr. recommends - HOWEVER, he noted that it is risky if done by a surgeon who does not routinely perform this operation. He referred me to a specialst at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago; my appointment for consultation is Dec. 2.

After coming home to research this issue, I am now even more uncertain WHY I am going to go with this riskier, with less *guaranteed* outcome procedure, at a very inconvenient location in the city, instead of a full (supracervical) hysterectomy done by a surgeon I know at my excellent hometown hospital. I do understand that the myomectomy is outpatient and supposedly has shorter recovery time. But I really do not like the idea that fibroids can keep recurring even though the one that was bugging you was removed.

From what I read the #1 reason for myomectomy is to preserve fertility. Has no one listened to me, that I have less-than-zero desire to have any more kids? I am going to be forty in a few months, fer chrissakes! I want a guarantee - no more troublesome uterine/ovarian problems, no worry about birth control. No having an operation and then needing another one in a few years. As far as I am concerned, my instinct is: lets just clean the clock and get it over with.

I will wait it out until the Dec 2nd appointment, and I will try to have an open mind as I speak to the Downtown Doctor. But now, by delaying this, I will have to start over with my insurance with my $300 deductible and portion paid for the year.

UPDATE:
Now that I have thought about it for a few days, I am wondering if I should just put off any/all surgeries for some time...my symptoms are troublesome, and sometimes worrisome,  but not life-threatening. Its a way bigger decision than I can deal with right now.My husband has feelings about this topic that complicate my decision-making. In the end, though, I have to live with this body of mine and with whatever decision I make.

Likely the most noticable side-effects of the hormonal treatment I am on (which is essentially birth control pills, but not in a pill format) are some degree of weight gain/bloating and a very  obvious surge of breast growth.

In a mere six weeks I have gone from a 38B to a 40D or DD depending on brand!!!!

My husband LOVES it. I do not.

Why not?

Well, for one thing, I now have to buy all new bras, which is a hassle. I am not only picky about fit and comfort, I am also a cheapskate (no Wacoal in my future). So I will literally squeeze into ill-fitting undergarments until I find the *right* bra or bras that suit my frugal-yet-finicky criteria.

Then, all of my treasured cashmere turtleneck sweaters, while they still fit, look matronly and dumpy now that I am so hefty in the bust. I have noticed that lower-cut (ballet neck, cowl neck, boatneck, v-neck, etc.) necklines are more flattering with the bigger hooters and puffier face. And yet, I dont want to be flashing cleavage all over the suburbs, so I will likely have to invest in some larger-size underwire camisoles, as well.

I dont want to invest TOO much; tomorrow (Monday) I have another procedure to check out my plumbing situation (ie - more invasive gyne testing) because I am still having symptoms similar to those I had when the ovarian tumor(s) was(were) larger. If further workup needs to happen and/or the good Doctor takes me off the hormones, its bye-bye big boobies, hello deflated sandbags.

In a last-minute decision by the powers that be at work, my husband is being sent to Milan (Italy) for a week, leaving this morning. He loves going there because of a particular sandwich, called the *Kenzo*,  served by a local restaurant near his hotel. Similarly, whenever we are visitng the Philadelphia/Jersey shore area, he is certain to indulge in a number of slices of the *Sigi*, his favorite hoagie by oddly-named (but delicious) Planet Hoagie, who conveniently have outposts near the homes in PA and NJ.

After Italy, he spends a week in Copenhagen - where he has never raved about sandwiches but lauds the coffee and little chocolates and pastries served in the morning at the office. Oh, and he also enjoys local brew, Tuborg, while there.

It is strange to me that whenever hubby speaks of his travels around the globe, literally the MAIN topic of conversation is the FOOD. In Brazil, its the steakhouses/bbq places where he eats until nearly bursting. In Hong Kong, its wonderful Thai and Malaysian food.

This is a guy who has likely had the same pants waist size since he was 22 years old; the same guy who rarely eats lunch during the work week (mostly due to lack of time.)

With my sh*tty metabolim, if I indulged in the culinary adventures he has had throughout his travels, instead of business class, I think on the return trip, Id end up in the cargo hold!!!

OK, I do not condone gossip but this video (or at least a section of it) reminded me of a situation I experienced a few years ago:

Some time ago, I volunteered to help, along with other room moms, to aid our first grade children with a timeline project they were making. I was assigned to work with the rather steely then-president of the PTA. I had always been intimidated by this rather snooty woman. During our shift, we had two children to assist, one of whom recently moved to the Chicago area from Argentina. I spoke a bit of Spanish to the Argentine girl, and helped her with the project.

After the kids left, PTA-mom remarked on my conversational Spanish.

I have a man who does my lawn who is from Brazil. He told me I should go there to visit, but I told him I dont speak Spanish, noted PTA mom.

I had to stifle my snicker.

They dont speak Spanish in Brazil, I gently replied. They speak Portuguese.

OK, that mistake is a common one. But the revelation of her ignorance got worse.

Portuguese? What? Well ,where else do they speak Portuguese, PTA mom retorted incredulously.

I looked her straight in the eye as I offered my reply: Portugal.

Needless to say, I never let the PTA bully bother me again when I realized what a clueless sh*thead she was.

That revealed, I now offer this rather viral video with the always entertaining (in one way or another), if not aggravating,  Bill OReilly dishing some scathing gossip about another world geography-challenged PTA mom:(listen for the bit about Africa. It is both priceless and terrifying)

My daughter is off from school AGAIN - this time on Nov. 11th for Veterans Day. We are trying to decide what to do. If it were up to me, we would just do something in the neighborhood, like breakfast out and a bit of shopping; maybe a movie. But she is hounding me to go into the city. It is a hassle going downtown with her because she is too little still to walk the 1.5-2 miles from the suburban train station to the tourist sites, such as Water Tower Place or any of the museums, so we end up taking cabs. She L-O-V-E-S taking cabs! I have no idea why she finds them so fascinating.

Her top two choices are the Field Museum (natural history) or American Girl Place. Both have their merits and detractions. The Field Museum is somewhat difficult to access from our train station and we would likely be better off driving and parking at their garage. American Girl Place (now at the urban mall, Water Tower Place) is also far from the train but we can take a cab there without too much trouble, although it would cost a few bucks.

Museum admission and parking is going to run well over $50. Ditto for American girl to have lunch there and take the cab; dont even mention the actual SHOPPING.

Personally, I would like to go to the Art Institute, and have lunch at one of my family*s fave spots - Millers Pub beforehand. But that child of mine finds the Art Institute *boring*. I guess it is too much to expect of an almost-nine year old.

Today, when I am not doing chores or trying to exercise my flabby arse into shape, I will be researching potential field trips for us.

Last night I waited in a line with fellow ticketholders for over 2 hours before we could take our place on the field to witness what ended up being Obamas victory speech.

Much to my surprise, the atmosphere, was rather sober. Everyone was happy, yes, but not jubilant, like a crowd celebrating a world series victory or superbowl. I believe there was an element of doubt in our collective mind that he would actualy WIN and by such a wide margin - despite polls leading to that conclusion prior to election day - that no one had fully grasped the reality of the announcement by CNN on the jumbotron.

I was one of the few who screamed and cheered at all the rally prompts: end of national anthem, during a chorus of Sweet Home Chicago, or introduction to the stage of *the new first family.* On the trek back to the various public transit stations, there was a shocking lack of celebratory ambiance among the throngs of humanity spread throughout the streets of the south loop. People were happy, but most folks seemed determined to just get their arses home after this long process.

I am still glad I was in attendance to witness this incredible chapter in US  - and Chicago - history.

My stomach is in knots over this election. I keep promising myself to turn off the tv, but I keep clicking on MSNBC and CNN incessantly.

I barely slept last night. Now I am jittery from too much coffee, and still have to trek downtown to the big Obama rally in Grant Park (I am one of the lucky ticketholders to the event.)

I was planning on a Starbucks run before the train ride, but now I think might be mroe tempted by a cocktail prior to the trek...

My daughter chose a pirate theme for her costume this year. We were unhappy with the available pattern options out in the marketplace, so she designed her own costume, and I happily complied with her vision (which was fairly easy to sew - I based a pattern for the jumper on one of her tank tops and just extended it to have an a-line skirt.) She even chose the fabric and trim for the tunic and hat at JoAnns; I found the iron-on patch for the front of the tunic,which was a last-minute embellishment. We added a blouse, belt and boots from a thrift store, and one of my old wigs!

She received many compliments as she made the rounds in the neighborhood on halloween.