johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine

I think I'm finally ready to fall asleep; after sleeping for approximately five hours in the truck on the way to/from Columbia, I didn't exactly feel like going to bed early tonight. We all managed to drag ourselves out of bed and out the door by 7:30 this morning, and my wakefulness was hammered into me, rather than gently coaxed, by almost immediately running out of hot water in the shower -- cold showers are much colder when the temperature of the water coming into your faucet from the pipes in the frozen ground is approximately 34 degrees. But, I somehow survived despite liking to pretend that this was a dramatic moment, and then alternated between watching the scenery and sleeping all the way into the heart of Missouri.

We met up with Aunt Dee and her three kids (Moriah, Eli, and Jordan) at Cracker Barrel -- I've never been to Cracker Barrel before, even though it sounds like a ubiquitous midwestern restaurant. I did decided to go for broke and order the chicken fried steak with gravy and biscuits and a sweet tea; Alyssa will not be pleased with me, but how could I possibly order a salad at Cracker Barrel? Besides, I saw the salads, and they were covered in cheese, meat, dressing, etc. -- hardly healthy anyway, right?

It was good to see them all, albeit bittersweet; observant readers may recall that Aunt Dee's husband, Uncle Scott, passed away unexpectedly while my father and I were in Singapore in April, and so we missed the funeral because we couldn't get back in time. I hadn't seen Aunt Dee or the kids after that, since I didn't come home much this year, and so it's good that we got together. We could only spend a couple of hours with them, since Moriah had to be back in St. Louis by 4pm for work, but it was good nonetheless.

Then we turned around and drove home, allowing me to nap again, although I did wake up long enough to run into a Super Walmart in northern Missouri to get a drink (and the location/clientele prompted my brother to mutter "I hope you have hobo stab insurance" as we walked through the parking lot). When we got home, I procrastinated until suppertime, procrastinated some more, talked to my mother about the prospects of the Iowa State men's basketball program this year (verdict: they're doing surprisingly well, despite having only nine eligible players, and our old star player Fred Hoiberg has returned to coach and appears to be seeing results alreadY). Then, my mother just happened to check the score of the Stanford/UConn women's basketball game and told me that Stanford was up, so I caught the last four or five minutes on ESPN streaming -- it was really cool to watch history being made, and it made me want to get tickets to a game so that I can see the "new" Maples Pavilion, since I haven't been to a game since before the renovation.

I should sleep now, though; we may or may not be making a traditional old country feast of delicious Ukrainian delicacies tomorrow, and if we are, I will need all my strength to peel and grate potatoes, strain cheese, roll out dough, and do any of the other myriad tasks required to put on a Ukrainian event (although I will not be standing in line tomorrow for a loaf of bread, for sure). [editor's note: I just fell asleep in a v. contorted position in my papasan with my laptop still balanced on my legs, so I may wake up tomorrow with bruises -- sleep is even more imperative, so goodnight!]