forces of evil in a bozo nightmare

I planned to go to Des Moines tomorrow to stock up on Alyssa-approved snack foods (like brown rice cakes, greek yogurt, and other 'tasty' foods that have never before been seen in my county) and finish my Christmas shopping -- but unfortunately, it looks like there's a chance of sleet/snow in Des Moines tomorrow, and so my trip is currently on hold. I suppose I will just have to try to find something in southern Iowa that contains lean protein, high fiber, and low fat/carbs -- this is akin to going snipe hunting, but I shall persevere.

Today was lovely and not quite as much work as I expected -- my grandmother's eightieth birthday party went off without a hitch. We (sans Michael) all went up to the civic center to decorate around ten a.m., and despite needing to haul cakes, punch ingredients, coffee/coffee makers, mints, forks/spoons/plates/napkins, ten cloth tablecloths, pictures, flowers, etc., etc. and then setting all of that up (including eight tables and at least eighty chairs), we were still done by 11-ish. So, we repaired to my parents' house, where we all had leftover ham sandwiches before heading back to town around 1:30pm (note: for those of you who were curious, I chose to wear my grey/cream skirt with the gigantic ring -- my brother does hate it, but I got some compliments, so he can suck it).

I think my grandmother had a great time, which was the only reason to do it, so I'm glad that she seemed to get a chance to talk to people and enjoy being the center of attention. I mostly hung out in the back and helped with the punch and coffee, although I did see some people I wanted to see (including my old friend Hannah from high school, whom I shall hopefully get together with while I"m home). And the guests were v. well-behaved -- many showed up right when the party started at two p.m., and they had promptly cleared out within fifteen minutes of the party's official four p.m. end time, which meant we were able to clean up and get out of there by a little after five p.m.

But now, I should really go to sleep; even though I'm likely not going to Des Moines, it would be good to get some writing done, and so sleep should be useful. Goodnight!