Ten on Tuesday

1. I'm grateful. As I said to Patrick last night, I don't have much, but I have great people. My "posse" is made up of the family I was born to and the family I have hijacked, and I wouldn't trade a single person for anything. Even the ones who annoy me from time to time. And in times when I feel like I don't have enough of something - money to wash my clothes, food to nourish my belly, courage to face the day - there is always someone (and oftentimes many someones) to pick up the slack. To say that I appreciate it is a monumental understatement, but I'm not sure how else to put it into words.
2. My sister is in Philadelphia working for the law firm on a case involving secondary insurance. It doesn't sound like too much fun - 17 hour days, big rainstorms in Philly, rowdy baseball fans keeping her up at night. But I might put up with it if I got turndown service and chocolates on my pillow at night.
3. That being said, the case was supposed to be tried in Barbados, but somehow it wound up in Philly. Bummer.
4. Alice Ruth is two years old! It was awesome to spend birthday time with her and the Clan Rice Carlson Bathje. Between catching up with my CharlieDad, bonding with the girls, forgetting my knitting and annoying Ryan, it was a pretty full visit. So awesome to see Chunk, even though I did have to withstand a great deal of Big Head jokes as he provided a suitable stand-in for Mike. It's funny how being together makes me miss those who weren't there even more.
5. Speaking of which, Alice's birthday means Kaylee's is right around the corner. I can't help feeling nostalgic because last year Clan Rice Tucson was with me on her birthday. I miss that little peanut so much. Trust me, I am saving my pennies for February.
6. My Halloween costume is coming together quite nicely. Hopefully by next Ten on Tuesday I'll have pictures to post.
7. It's lunchtime and I really want beer.
8. I voted. Those who know me probably already know for whom. However, in case you don't ... it was for the NOT CHEESEDOODLE.
9. I am out of Rumpleminze. I cannot survive winter until the stash has been replenished. Right now it's 41 degrees here in Chicagoland. Overnight, we'll get down to 30. Thank heaven for the heated mattress pad.
10. I have a cape. No, not the "I think I'm a super hero" kind. I have two winter coats, but neither one of them fit. Really, I look like a refugee in them. So when my sister Jenn and I were down in the cedar closet at Dad's a few weeks back, looking to clear out anything in there that wasn't any good anymore, Jenn came across her old cape. (Now, on what planet does someone just have an old spare cape laying around?) And she says to me, "You should take this," knowing that I have nothing to keep me warm that doesn't look like I stole it off of someone three sizes larger than I. At first I thought she was joking, and then I remembered ... Jenn doesn't really joke. See, she knew a new coat wasn't in the budget. She's also a little proud of me for taking better care of myself. And she doesn't want me to be cold. The cape is kind of special, because Jenn and our mom went in on it together many years ago. Neither of them could justify the cost for just one of them. But it's been hanging in the cedar closet for years, and now, it's being worn. It's a little dramatic, a lot warm, and sort of like getting a hug from Jenn and Mom. It might be a bit much for every day, but then again, so am I.