To Do or Not to Do

It was bound to happen.

I bought this place and it is covered in wallpaper that is not me.

It's Victorian, actually. Not bad mind you; but not me.

So what that means is that I will have to remove the wallpaper from the ENTIRE house at some point, and proceed from there.

I intend to do that, only there is the "keeping the house clean" problem to deal with daily, as well as the "keeping the yard maintained" problem that seems to be daily, being that it is summer and we've had a LOT of rain.

Speaking of summer, my lovely daughter has been complaining about how bored she is.

I bought her puzzles when she showed an interest. I let her run around in the creeks of Indian Head Acres so she could hang out with her friends, even though I was apprehensive about it. Okay, I used to live there when I was a child and I know what I did when I lived there and OMG not my child!!)...and I allowed her to go to sleep overs. But, still, she is bored.

I digress.

This afternoon, as we were preparing to go to daddy's house, I noticed a piece of wallpaper border coming unglued in the dining room. It was installed just above the chair rail. I had actually seen the peeling wallpaper before but ignored it because fixing it was way too far down on my "to do" list to worry about.

I pulled it.

I pulled it and Jessie saw me!! She immediately went into "wallpaper removal" mode. If you don't know what I am talking about, then back up in the archives a couple years. You will see.

She got so into it... I got into it. It was hard to get her to stop, but we had to leave. She professed that pulling wallpaper would be the greatest part of her summer vacation and vowed to begin first thing tomorrow. God help me.

Here is the damage:



You know, of course, that this means I have to deal with the dining room now.

Just another "to do" for my list.

The Jess

Recent pics of the daughter...



Tell me she doesn't look like LAURIE!!!

Okay, a dark-haired Laurie, but come on... the lips on the bottom pic are so her (click pic for a larger view)!!

Gun show

I went to a gun show today.

I never thought in a million years I would go to one.

Well, to be fair, it was a gun and knife show.

A couple of weeks ago Dale asked me if I wanted to go to it with him. I answered yes because he has done things with me that interest me, even though I know he was cringing the entire time.

So I said yes.

We arrived around noon. The admission was $6.00 per person.

I had asked him earlier in the week how much the admission fee was, and he said he thought $5.00. A $5.00 admission fee seemed excessive; I mean we would only be looking at guns....and okay, knives. But $6.00?

So we went in.

I didn't want to go... ya know, but I was determined to stick it out and be positive. That's what love is about... give and take.. I totally know that.

The place was packed with people. Mostly men, but there were some couples.

The first couple I noticed was a mirror of us. The man was studying the merchandise..intently...and the woman was standing next to him trying not to look bored. That was me.

But as boring as it was, I did see some pretty neat looking guns, including a rifle used in the Civil War. We went from one booth to the next looking at what seemed like the same merchandise we had just seen.

I got excited when we neared the last booth. Finally, we could leave! However, the only way out was through another building, which was also full of guns and knives. I begged Dale to look quickly as we had already been there two hours. So he did and we ended up leaving with sore feet about 30 minutes later.

My son is allowed to drive

Jason got his learner's permit today. I feel so old.

He actually failed the first time he took the test, missing just a couple over the allowed limit, so David took him again today.

I am so excited for him because I think it's a big deal to get your driver's license.

I remember when I got my first license.... learner's permit. It was freedom, even though there had to be an adult sitting in the front supervising.

At the time, the "adult" in my life was Nana; my grandmother. Whenever we drove anywhere, she was by my side and my sister was in the back criticizing.

At 16, I could drive solo. Nana suddenly ended up in the back seat. I was cool then. And, driving solo made me feel grown up. I volunteered to drive any where, any time, and for any reason.

Now, I get to teach Jason to drive and I am terrified. I know he will be a good driver but it's scary to think of him controlling something so big.

Here he is. Good pic, I must say, considering his hair is so long. At least he parted his bangs so his eyes are visible.



I asked him if I could take his license to work with me tomorrow because I wanted to show it off to my coworkers.

He said no.

The shirt that wasn't

I was folding laundry and came across a girl's shirt that's wasn't Jessie's.

It is not uncommon to find myself folding unfamiliar laundry. Laundry that is way cooler than the stuff I buy my kids. I swear, Jessie has the best wardrobe going... and it consists mainly of items she has inherited from friends.

But for every piece she has inherited, a piece has been bestowed... believe me. I can't tell you how many items of clothing I have bought her only to see it worn once or twice before it "disappears."

So, anyway, I am folding laundry and find a shirt I don't recognize.

It was the kind of shirt that has the illusion of a shirt on top of a tank-top. They are cool indeed, but when they are inside-out and you are trying to get them rightside-out, they are not cool.

I fussed with it. I fought with it. I twisted it this way and that, but I could not get the shirt to look right. And I would need it look right before I could fold it. After all, I am compulsive that way.

Maybe the extra shirt was supposed to drape off the left hand shoulder, I thought to myself as I wrestled with the fabric.

I held it up and studied it. Then something became obvious to me.

The combo shirt was not a combo shirt after all. It was a tank top AND the skirt that went to her bathing suit held together by static electricity.

I'm quizable

I have to say, I take these kinds of quizzes a LOT.

So much, in fact, that I have learned that you can evoke a different outcome just by clicking the refresh button.

I don't usually post the results from the quizzes I take, but with this quiz, I think the results are dead-on. Well, dead-on except that I don't make decisions easily..... For better or worse, I make them rather quickly, actually.

You Are a Centaur

In general, you are a very cautious and reserved person. However, you are also warm hearted, and you enjoy helping others in practical ways. You are a great teacher, and you are really good at helping people get their lives in order. You are very intuitive, and you go with your gut. You make good decisions easily.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Bedfellows

I gave away Jason's bed today.

A few weeks ago I heard about a really neat site from a friend of Dale's. It's a Yahoo group called tallyfreecycle. It's free to join but you have to live in Tally... I am sure there are sites like this in other cities... Anyway people either offer things they don't want anymore or people ask for items they want.

So I joined and, for the heck of it, posted a WANT ad asking for a double bed for my teenage son who had outgrown his single bed. I figured it was probably unreasonable to ask for such a big-ticket item but I had nothing to lose. The next morning I had an email from a woman who had a bed for me.

I couldn't believe it. I got what I asked for!!

Dale and I went to pick it up last Sunday morning. It's a beautiful Windsor-style bed with head/foot boards and a brand new mattress.

So then I had his bed to deal with. First I asked Jason if it wanted to take his bed to his Dad's apartment to use. He said no. So I decided I would give it to someone on the freecycle site.

Before I could post an ad, I saw a WANT ad from a single mom who needed two twin beds. I emailed her and told her I had one I could give and she gladly accepted. She arranged to come over tonight to pick it up. Around 7:30 she called and told me her mother was coming in her van and confirmed the directions.

When her mother arrived, she pulled into the driveway but didn't get out. I walked down and introduced myself. She told me that she was deathly afraid of cats. Jess and I put all the cats in a room and proceeded to help her carry out the bed frame and mattresses.

Now I have to tell you, the van this woman was driving was filled up with stuff... 3 child seats and at least a 48-bulk pack of toilet paper... I swear to you.... and I couldn't help thinking, "What was this woman thinking by sending her mother to pick up a bed in a van loaded with crap??"

She loaded the head/foot boards in the front passenger seat.

She loaded the rails in the middle section.

Then, after some experimentation, we loaded the box spring through the back so that it rested on the head rests of the middle seat.

The main problem was the mattress. There was no way it was gonna fit inside the van. NO WAY.

Then the woman said she was going to fold the mattress.

OMG, I thought to myself. First of all, everyone knows you can't just fold a mattress. And second of all, even if it could be folded it would surely break. But the woman, who was a seasoned mover, had it under control. So we loaded the folded mattress into the van and off she went with many thanks.

All in the family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Here we are.

Me (Liane): 45, overweight, curlyish greyish-black hair, bifocals, usually stressed out... a/k/a mommy or "mother" in the event one of them is put out with me. I prefer Queen of the Universe... only I can't seem to get anyone to refer to me that way.

I try to do everything right.... hence the halo... but I don't always get things right.

P.S., I do have eyebrows.

Jason: No aliases that I know of. 15 1/2 and in the throes of adolescence. About to be a sophomore in high school and knows everything. His hair is longer than the cartoon depiction and almost covers his eyes... it's also much darker than many of you may remember. He is tall and lanky with a low voice... monotone for the most part, as he usually only speaks in one-word sentences. There wasn't a soccer outfit choice, so I went with golf because that is his new sport interest. He watches it on t.v. for hours (yawn). He is also interested in tennis but only plays occasionally with his friends. He's rekindled his interest in soccer. He tried out for a new travel soccer team last week and we are waiting to find out if he made it.

Jessica: a/k/a Jess or Jessie. 13 1/2 and going into 7th grade. Also in the throes of adolescence but speaks (or yells) in fluent sentences. There is no doubt that she will be taller than me as an adult. She is almost as tall as me now... at least in her platform flip flops. Of course when I tell people that, they always reply, "what's your point?"

She definitely has a figure now and looks well beyond her age body-wise. She is into cooking, but not cleaning, and wants to be a chef. Next school year, she will be in chorus. She loves to wear jewelry but is not good at keeping up with it. After she lost all of her earrings, she lost all of mine. She is obsessed with Vera Bradly bags and other name-brand clothing thanks to her friends whose parents can afford them.

Spot: a/k/a spottums or bott bott. Our oldest cat. He is black with white. He is very aloof and spends most of his time sleeping in strange places and hissing at the kittens.

Stinky: a/k/a stinky boy or stinkweed or stinkwad. Raised from the bottle at 2 weeks; thinks he's a person. He is very social although he is scared of everything, which is highly annoying to me. He is very vocal and talks to us in tones we seem to understand. He tolerates the kittens and tries to play with them occasionally.

Bacon and Spike: a/k/a bacon-bit and spikey. Our newest family members. Raised from the bottle at 2 weeks; now 8 weeks old. They bounce all over the house and explore everything. And by explore, I mean get into places where they should not be. Funny as hell to watch. Bacon (named by Jessie) looks almost exactly like Stinky... grey/black tabby. Spike (named by Jason) is grey and white tabby.

I'm baaaccck... well sort of

As is the norm with me, when things are going smoothly I get bored and have to shake them up. SO much has happened since my last post and it's overwhelmingly overwhelming to try to catch you up now.

Here's the Reader's Digest version of my life since March..... I bought a new home (mobile home) back in my old neighborhood. The main move is this weekend but I have been packing/moving all month. I traded my gas-hog Jeep for a Honda Civic (5-speed), which I absolutely LOVE. I adopted 2 two-week-old kittens who are now five weeks old and finally on solid food. I still have my same children and job, however.

Needless to say I am tired. This week is kicking my butt, and next week will be worse. Here's something to hold you until I feel like writing. I can't say I disagree with any of the results really.

You Are 6: The Loyalist

You have strong relationships and are intensely loyal. People find you easy to love and care for. You like your world to be stable and secure, no surprises. You're cautious. You prefer your inner circle to the outside world. At Your Best: You are courageous, a positive thinker, and expressive. You can take on the world. At Your Worst: You are secretly insecure - which makes you sarcastic, cold, and argumentative. Your Fixation: Doubt Your Primary Fear: Abandonment Your Primary Desire: Security and support Other Number 6's: Mel Gibson, Woody Allen, Jay Leno, Marilyn Monroe, and Julia Roberts.

What Number Are You?

Get 'r done

Thanks to my cousin for rescuing me from my inability to post anything on my blog lately. I borrowed this from her blog.

Hmmm, I've done 53 of the things listed below. I guess I need to get a life! How many have you done?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (not successfully however)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise (more like stayed out all night...)
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (is FSU football considered huge?)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (NEVER doing that again!)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (seems I do that on a daily basis)
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36.Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them (did on a train dining car)
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud (mud puddle)
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (was almost in a movie... "Something Wild". The crew were setting up the camera angles, rehearsing the scene, and noticed me watching from some bushes at my friend's house and I was in the "shot", so they invited me to come closer to watch.)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (anywhere my kids are)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart (I don't know for sure, but I imagine so)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet (only for about 2 hours though when I was 10. I came home with it on my head and my dad freaked out)
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Earring woes

Jessica lost an earring.

She is not good with keeping up with her jewelry... or any of her stuff for that matter. She has one of every earring pair she's ever owned. And I have one of every earring pair I've ever owned, thanks to her.

Anyway, she left her new pearl earrings on my bathroom counter; so excited to wear them with her matching pearl necklace and new outfit to school. Fake pearls of course, and big.

It was Monday morning and she had waited, once again, until the last minute to shower and get ready for school.

I was stressed.

It was almost 7:30 a.m., and I needed to leave to get Jason to school. She was worried about finding that earring and wanted me to help her look.... and she wouldn't take no for answer.

I told her I didn't have time to help her look; that she had waited too long to get ready and I had to leave. If she wanted to look, that was fine. She could walk over to Rob's later, since she didn't need to be there until 8:15.

Well that didn't sit well with her and an argument ensued. I ended up leaving her at home to walk over. Before I left, however, I put the remaining earring in a safe place.

A week went by and nothing more was said about the earring.

Yesterday, while Jessie was in the shower, I took her folded clothes from the laundry into her room. As I walked through the door I noticed something on the wall ahead of me.

I put her clothes down and walked closer. It was a pearl earring, just like the one she lost, sticking out of the wall.

Out of the wall?

I looked closer and, sure enough, it was the same one she lost. I ran to my bathroom to check if the earring I put away was still there, and it was.

She found her earring at some point and stuck it into an existing nail hole in her wall... not one of her 4 jewelry boxes mind you, but the wall.

I took a picture because it was just too weird, but alas, I don't have any AA batteries at the moment, so I can't upload it until I get some.

Check back to see the pic!!

More trash talk

I love trash day.

Well, the evening before actually.

It's when people around my neighborhood put out their trash for the pick-up on Monday afternoon.

I always roll my can out on Monday morning, but I am the only one, as my neighbors have surely noted.

Anyway, the people in this subdivision throw away the best things.

Since I've been here, I've inherited

• a trash can for Jessica's room (right after she had requested one);
• 2 lawn chairs (right after I was going to buy one and learned that they cost more than $10);
• a 4-drawer plastic organizer chest on wheels (that Jessica immediately wanted to use for a dresser, but that's another story);
and, just now...
• a metal shelf perfect for storing things in the garage.

and I've seen many more things discarded that were perfectly good.

It's a matter of convenience, I know, to just throw things away. I've done it before....and still do it, and I know all this stuff should be donated to some charity.

But it's just easier to leave it with the trash.

And it's fun to find.

Unmarriage

It's official.

I am divorced. I am a divorcee. Do I look any different?

A year of anticipation culminated in a 15-minute court appearance and "poof" it was final.

I didn't even know it until I called David to ask what happened in court. I figured it would take 30 days or so after the court date. But nope. It was final right then... probably at 2:45 this afternoon.

I am a little sad that that part of my life is officially over; but I am also happy that I can proceed with the next part of my life.

Brutally fruity

I know I haven't posted in a while.... been busy.... been lazy. I saw this on my cousin's blog and took the test. I think it's pretty on target, except my hair isn't green.
.

You Are a Pear

You are independent, intelligent, and a free thinker. You can accomplish great things, especially when you do them on your own. You are direct, honest, and sometimes even a bit brutal. There's not much that gets in the way of you and your ambition. While you are hard nosed, you do have a much sweeter side to you. It takes times for you to soften toward someone, but once you do, you'll be their friend for life.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

Circle of wine

I went to another wine tasting tonight.

Actually, this was my third. The second never happened.

The second was just before Christmas at a place called the Wine Warehouse. Dale and I arrived in our usual casual attire and quickly noticed that the attire was not casual; it was business formal. To make matters worse, the snooty woman behind the counter informed us that reservations were required and we didn't have one.

Anyway, we went to our third wine tasting.

Dale paid the admission and, as we picked up our wine glasses, the woman cashier informed us that it was very crowded; that way more people had shown up than expected.

It was okay, we said, and we made our way to the room where the wine was.

We walked in and stopped short. It was a tiny room and I noticed immediately that there was a line; only I couldn't determine where the line ended. I asked the closest person to me and she said that there wasn't an end to the line; that they were basically walking in a circle, sampling wine from the only table set up, and continuing in their circle until they came back around to the table again for more. She said we could merge in ahead of her, so we did.

Unlike my other wine tasting experience, the majority of people there were older than me and VERY friendly. The woman ahead of us turned around and filled us in on how things worked. She told us of her wine tasting experience so far... what she had sampled and how she liked it.

I was ahead of Dale as we approached the table. I asked for something red and NOT dry and the man poured me a Pinot Noir of some sort. I took a sip. It wasn't bad at all. I moved away from the table and turned around to find out what Dale had been given.

He had something white. He told me it was his third sample.

Third??, I asked.

Yep, he said. He had slammed the first two down.

It made total sense to me since we had to circle around to get another sample (and it was crowded). So the next time we came around, I did the same thing. Only the other red wines were terrible and terribly expensive.

On our last round, I got a rose sample, which is technically considered a white wine. It was the best of the types I had sampled.

By the time we left, most of the people had left as well. We looked around the store part and checked out the neat bottles.

This wine tasting experience was definitely better than my first, but I have come to the conclusion (as has Dale) that the cheaper the wine, the better it is.

Christmas Eve'ing

The fire is embers now and it's 9:30. It's been a great Christmas Eve. I was wondering how it would go. My son, who is in his adolescent funk..... and my daughter, who is in her pre-adolescent funk... experiencing our first Christmas Eve without daddy.

They didn't fight.

He was in a good mood. She was in a good mood.

We built a fire. We were going to go drive around and look at lights—me and Jessie, but Jason didn't want us to go... nor did he want to accompany; so Jessie agreed we could stay home.

They are in bed now and I have a lot to do.

Here are some pics of the night.








Jessie, in her room watching High School Musical 2.





Jason playing his PSP not wanting to be photographed.....








and running from me and my camera.














The kids played and had a pillow fight. Amazingly it didn't end with someone crying.






Jessie being the ham she is.























Our tree.

Dang it, you can't see the lights. It's a beautiful tree filled with memories and hopes.



It's been such a nice night.

No tools required

I wanted to get Dale a really good gift.

He said he wanted a Skil Saw, and I got him one, but I wanted to get him something else. Something he would like that he didn't ask for.

I had no clue what to get, so I asked his best friend Mike and he suggested a grill. What a great idea I thought. He needed a new grill. His old one was falling apart.

I went to Home Depot first and then Lowes to check out the inventory. Lowes had a nice gas grill. It was smaller than his old one, but very nice and in my price range. I decided to purchase it unassembled because I wasn't sure it would fit in my jeep, and, besides, the box said "No tools required."

How hard could that be?

I didn't get around to assembling it until the last minute. It was Thursday afternoon and the kids were going to David's. I had to assemble it now because I would be with Dale on Thursday and Friday and we had planned to exchange gifts on Saturday.

So it was 4:30 on Thursday afternoon and I had to leave to take the kids to David's at 5:40. That should be enough time to assemble the grill I thought.

I dragged the box into the living room (it was very heavy) and proceeded to unpack the pieces... pulling off cardboard and plastic and tossing it to the side. After I got all the pieces unloaded, it looked like a cardboard factory had exploded in my living room.

I was beginning to have doubts assembling this thing. I didn't realize there would be so many pieces. Then I saw the 2 bags containing all the screws, bolts, washers, etc. There must have been 100 of them.

I stared at the instructions in disbelief. What have I done? But I only had about 45 more minutes to spend before having to leave.

I set about trying to assemble the first 2 pieces and couldn't. I got half of it done but the other half wouldn't line up. In the meantime, the kids had taken over the box that everything came in and were in the process of fighting about who was gonna get inside.

By the time 5:40 rolled around, I was completely stressed out and had accomplished nothing. I couldn't even get past instruction #1. I decided to pack everything back into the box and take it back. I called Lowes and explained my problem to Brian, who said to just bring it back.

After spending another 5 minutes trying to get the kids out of the box, I began the process of trying to put all the pieces BACK into the box. I managed to get them back in, but it was nowhere near the same way they came out.

And, in the rush to get the car loaded and the kids out of the house, I forgot to bring the receipt. The guys at Lowe's were terrific, however. They took my box of parts and sent it back to be assembled and let me pick one from the inventory they had out front.... and they did it all so that no receipt was required. Thank goodness for that!

I took the grill over to Dale's Friday morning after he had left for work and set it next to his deck hoping that he would not notice it. He didn't. Then I wrapped up a note telling him to go look out his back deck. I gave it to him last night and he liked it, so it was all worth it.

Lessons learned: 1) NEVER buy anything like that unassembled; 2) If I ever do, NEVER wait until the last minute to assemble it.

Christmas queries

I stole this questionnaire thingy from my cousin's blog. She participates in a group of bloggers who do "Fun Mondays" which gives a topic and each person writes a blog about that topic as well as things like this. I have never participated in the past because -- as you well know -- I am not a reliable blogger. I liked this one however so here goes.....

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper usually because it's more cost effective; but I do the gift bag thing as well because I absolutely HATE to wrap presents. In fact, anyone who receives a present wrapped by me will notice how much unattention to detail it gets. Unlike David, who spends enormous amounts of time wrapping presents so that each crease and fold is perfect or my mom who uses the most beautiful paper and handmade bows and such to wrap presents that you don't even want to open because it is so pretty, I prefer to slap on the paper, tape the shit out of it and stick on a bow (a self-adhesive bow mind you). Sometimes I move the bow around or even attach two if I am feeling crazy. And forget the cute tag; I often just write directly on the present.

2. Tree--Real or Artificial? I have an artificial tree. I grew up with live trees and love them... the smell, the drama of getting it set up and decorated. But when the kids were very small, David and I bit the bullet and purchased an artificial tree. I felt like a traitor at first but the feeling soon wore off. After all, it is great to just drag it out of the closet and assemble it each year without worrying about having to pay $50+ for a tree that will begin to shed after a few weeks and leave little pieces of tree all over the carpet. Having said that, though, this tree is about 14 years old now and the color coded branch system used to assemble it is shot and it has begun to shed pieces of fake pine needles all over my carpet. Maybe next year I'll get a real one.

3. When do you put your Christmas tree up? Usually the second weekend in December. I cringe when I see trees up immediately after Thanksgiving and cringe even more so when I see the few that go up after Halloween. Yuck!

4. When do you take the tree down? Historically, around February but never before New Years. One year the tree stayed up until April. Neither David or I wanted to deal with taking it down and it was in an "out-of-the-way" spot so we just ignored it. This year, I will take down the tree right after New Years. It's quite big and the living room isn't!

5. Like egg nog? Nope.

6. Do you have a nativity scene? No.

7. Favorite gift received as a child? I can't remember a favorite gift but I always thought getting our stockings was the most magical thing about Christmas. My sister and I would wake up very early, like 4am early, and go get our stockings. We would then go to one or our bedrooms and check out the loot! Then we would go back to sleep until the parents woke up.

8. Hardest person to buy for? It used to be my uncle Gary, but we don't exchange gifts anymore. He is the type of person who never needs anything. This year it's Dale. I don't really know him well enough but have some ideas. For me, the hardest thing about buying presents is actually giving up what I get for people because I tend to buy things I like.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Jessica.

10. Worst Christmas gift? It was a country-style sort of wooden contraption for the bathroom that held rolls of toilet paper. God it was awful.

11. Mail or email a Christmas Card? Mail.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story. Never get tired of watching it... except on Christmas eve day when they show it for 24 hours straight.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually around mid-December. This year I am ahead of the game.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but I once received a present from my aunt that I gave her several years prior. I bought her this really neat ceramic bowl (well, neat to me) and about 4 years later she gave it back to me for Christmas. I guess she forgot I was the one who gave it to her. I didn't care though because, like I said, I tend to buy gifts that I personally like.

15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? Collard greens, squash casserole, deviled eggs. I generally don't eat those foods unless it's Thanksgiving or Christmas.

16. Clear or colored tree lights? Colored, with NO blinking.

17. Favorite Christmas Song? Don't know the name, but it's the one that they use with the Garmin commercials (Crap that's so bad). I also LOVE the Christmas album by the Kingston Trio.

18. Travel during Christmas or Stay home? Stay home. My employer (FSU) closes the week between Christmas and New Years so it would be an optimal time to travel if I had the money.

19. Can you name Santa's reindeers? Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen, Rudolph...okay, I can't remember the stupid song.

20. Angel or Star on Tree top? Growing up, we always had a peace sign made out of tin foil on top of the tree. This year I have a dove or bird of peace-type ornament.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. Just like when I was young, Jason and Jessica are allowed to open one present on Christmas eve.... a present that I pick. When I was young, I always seemed to open underwear or PJs, but I have never done that to my kids! (sorry mom).

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People. I am very antisocial. I can't stand crowds.

Eating my words

Okay, despite all my ranting, I put up Christmas lights today.

I wanted to outline the house with lights so I went to Walmart and bought a 96-foot strand of multi-colored lights. It was a toss up between multi-colored or all blue, which is a look I absolutely LOVE. I also bought a multi-colored net of lights for my hedge which runs the length of my house save the front door stoop and garage.

So I was ready to decorate. I eagerly opened the box and pulled out a tangle of lights. Seriously, it was a tangle. And I didn't know how it was supposed to untangle.

I struggled with it for about 10 minutes, pulling and twisting the wire until I had somewhat of a net in front of me.

Awesome.

I threw it over the hedge in triumph. Only it was way too small. It only covered about 1/4 of the hedge, at best.

This netting costs $9 a box and I estimate I will need at least 4 boxes to cover my hedge. Well that's not gonna happen... that would mean spending $36 just to cover the hedge. Instead, I draped the net of lights on the very small hedge in front of my garage.

It looks good, but it is highly inadequate compared to the houses around me. I have more decorating to do in order to "get off the porch and run with the big dogs."

I still have the 96-foot strand to put up. I think I will drape my big hedge rather than trying to outline the house.

God help me, I guess I am one of them.

Merry Christmas

There are at least 2 houses on my street that have Christmas lights up.

It's the beginning of December people.

And, in the Christmas spirit, a plethora of houses in my subdivision literally exploded into decoration (like popcorn) the day after Thanksgiving.

Merry Christmas.

Daily, I see cars with trees attached to their rooftops. The trees are prey shot in the hunt and brought back as trophy. I laugh to myself knowing that those trees will most likely be dead by Christmas. Needles everywhere.

How long does a cut tree last anyway? Don't answer that.

I absolutely HATE the commercialism of Christmas.

I hate it.

I hate it that people put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving.

I hate it that I have to hear commercials advertising the "After Thanksgiving Sale" 4 days prior.

I hate it that I will hear the "After Christmas" sales commercials on December 15th.

Not only do I hate... I refuse.

I refuse to get up at 4 am the day after Thanksgiving just so I can save 25%.
(Okay, I did this once. It was a mad house I tell you).

I refuse to be pressured to put my tree up any sooner than the second weekend in December.

I refuse to be told what decorations I can display on the outer regions of my house. I hear some subdivisions REQUIRE that you decorate with only white lights.

Merry Christmas.