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.

Headliners

I've been collecting stupid or odd headlines for a while now. I'm sure I've missed a ton but I saw this one just now and had to post it:

• Divorce is bad for the environment, researchers say

Whaa?????

Here are some more (older ones) I've collected:

• Hugh Grant avoids charges over 'baked beans attack'
• Paula Abdul trips over dog, breaks nose
• Boom Separates From Base With Two People Inside
• Neighborhood May Be Infested With Meat-Eating Lizards
• O.C. Police Say Man Tried to Pay Store Tab With Pot
• Lawn-loving man gets life for murder
• Calif. town asking grandmothers to help fight gangs

I don't know. I think that the first one is my fav.

Out of the Mist

Driving up Bannerman on my way to work this morning I could see clear skies ahead. The view from my rear view mirror, however, was not good. It was ominous.... dark and dreary; and it was encroaching my rear quickly.

Very quickly.

It wasn't even dark when I turned from my subdivision onto Bannerman. But now, only 2 miles up the road, there was an eerie presence behind me.

I glanced back and forth from rear view to front view. It was so eerie. It reminded me of The Mist. I had just seen it yesterday. Supposed to be the "scariest" movie of the year. Well, it wasn't. It was kind of suspenseful but totally predictable.... and full of gore.

The Mist is about a mist that comes out of the mountains and overtakes a small town in Somewhere, USA. It is full of monsters spider-like creatures that devour the unsuspecting and stupid townfolk.

Anyway, I turned right onto Thomasville Road fully expecting the darkness that was behind me to now be on my right. But it wasn't. It was behind me still.

That is weird, I thought to myself. I looked to my right and it was basically clear.

I continued down Thomasville and the darkness followed but never overtook me.

After about 7 miles, the wind picked up and there was a flurry of leaves swirling all around the car. Violently swirling. Just like the monster bugs from The Mist.

And there was just a sprinkle of rain.

As I approached I-10, the wind died down. The leaves were gone. The darkness was gone.

Then it poured down rain.

The way we were

OMG, you have to read this blog:

http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/2007/10/strap-in-shut-up-and-hold-on-were-going.html.

I found out about it from my cousin Sarah's blog and she found out about it from her brother's blog. This is one of the funniest things I have ever read and so true..... I remember the 70s.

The dance

Dale and I went dancing the other night and we have video of it. I haven't danced in years but I think I held up pretty well.

Check it out.

Ima Weener!

I entered some mosaic pieces in the fair this year.... and WON!!

First place on the table and second on the wall hanging.


Feels good.

Mom entered a macrame piece also and won first place.

Questioning that that should not be

Every parent has asked some pretty weird questions of their children. I wish I had written down some of the doosies I have asked in the past; but better late than never.

Questions I asked today:

Why is there a lolly pop attached to the closet door?

I didn't get an answer, yet it is still there.


Why is there a Lazy Susan in the middle of my bedroom floor?

Jessica answers from her bedroom, "Sorry, I was sitting on it." Then, from the living room I hear Jason say, "Who is Susan?"

How

Okay, I'm talented but not this talented!

Your Native American Name Is...

Nina Tis-See-Woo-Na-Tis Your name means: Strong Woman Who Bathes With Her Knees

What's Your Native American Name?

Bathroom blues

Jessica got locked in the bathroom today.

I was in my bathroom at the time. Apparently she spit on Jason and Jason chased her into the bathroom and he pushed on the door or something... and it jammed.

Who knows what really happened. They both deny any wrong doing. All I know was that the door wouldn't open but the knob would turn. It was stuck just like my closet door.

It wasn't funny at first, but after a few minutes, I was cracking up as I listened to her going through stages.

First was awareness. Something was wrong with the door. I could hear her all the way in my bathroom... tugging, turning, rattling, banging.

Next was panic. She realized the door was not going to open; she couldn't get out. She began screaming that the door wouldn't open. I came as quickly as I could but couldn't get the door to open.

At this point she was freaking out. I got her calmed as best as I could and ran to call the management company.

Then came anger. As I was on the phone, I could hear her ranting and raving like a sailor... and I was in the kitchen. That picture of her on Halloween came to mind.

Next was acceptance. There was nothing to do but wait until the repairman arrived, so I began to shove magazines under the door. Anything that would fit. Her friend Rob called and, as I was telling him that she was stuck in the bathroom, she told me to put the phone up to the door. Amazingly she could hear him through the door so I leaned the phone on the floor so she could talk, laughing as I went for the camera. This was too funny.


Finally came relief. After about 30 minutes, the repairman arrived and freed her. She ran out of the bathroom and gave me a huge hug.

Like the other knobs, the insides were plastic and broken. The repairman replaced it with a metal one. I told the management company that they should let the owner know that all of the door knobs should be replaced (after all this has happened four times now) and the woman said she would put in a work order.

A taste of wine

Went to my first wine tasting last night.

I rarely drink wine.... and when I do, I get tipsy after a few sips. The last time I had any was a year ago at a workshop in Charleston, SC. The swanky hotel I stayed in had a wine and cheese reception every afternoon from 4:30 until 6:00 (after training had concluded for the day mind you) so I had a glass the second day I was there and found myself giggling uncontrollably while trying to compose an email to a coworker. The third day I had two glasses and proceeded to wander the streets of historic Charleston in search of food.

Anyway, Dale wanted to go and it seemed like something sophisticated grown-ups did, so I was game.

It was held at ABC Liquors near the FSU campus. We arrived around 6:30 p.m., paid the $5.00/per person entrance fee, and collected our wine glass (I thought it was neat that we got to keep our glass.).

We could barely get in the door. The store is not big at all and it was filled with college students! I should have known that offering tastes of different wines (and beer) for a meager $5.00 would attract them.

There were three stations serving various types of wine. I couldn't really see what was being offered though because of the crowds. Eventually, we pushed our way to a station in the back. The woman serving began to explain the different types of wines she had for the tasting. I know absolutely nothing about wine except that it comes in red and white, so I listened intently as she described what she had to offer... Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chablis. When she finished, she looked at me patiently waiting for my decision. I had no clue what she had just said.... it was like listening to a foreign language, so I told her I wanted something red. I am sure she thought I was the cultured one!

She poured a small amount of "something red" in my glass and I walked off down one of the many aisles filled with bottles. It was very dry but not bad. Dale joined me and we stood there away from the crowds. After I was finished, I decided to try a white wine. So I pushed my way back to the woman and told her I wanted to try something white. She proceeded to speak in her foreign language, describing the two white wines she had. Again, I had no clue what they were so I just pointed to the one on the left. It was much better.

After a few more minutes, we maneuvered around to another station that was serving different imported beers and Dale tried a few. After that we left. It was just too crowded and I was feeling kind of sick from the wine. We went to the Hobbit for wings and beer... more my style.

It was a neat experience and I am glad I went, but I don't know if I'll go to any more.

Mule Day

Dale, Jessica, and I went to Mule Day up in Calvary, GA, a few weekends ago. I hadn't been since I was a child, so I was excited to experience it with an adult perspective.

Dale, and others, told me that we needed to get there early... like 6:00 a.m. early.... in order to snag a good parking spot. So I set the alarm for 4:30 a.m. so we would have time to wake up and make the 30 minute drive up there. When the alarm went off, however, it was quickly reset for 6:00 a.m. It's just not right to get up that early on a Saturday!

We arrived around 8:00 a.m. and it was already pretty crowded. We paid $5.00 to park in the middle of a pecan orchard, but it was relatively close. We made our way down a narrow road toward a huge field filled with tents in the foreground and campers behind.

Mule Day was huge. It was totally different from my childhood recollection. All I remembered, actually, was seeing harnessed mules attached to a pole of some sort following a circle path beat into the dirt. They were grinding sugar cane into molasses.

I was hoping Jessica would get to see that as well, but there wasn't any sugar cane making going on; at least as far as I could tell. Instead, there were lots of food and craft booths and a stage where different groups of cloggers danced to what seemed to be the same song... something country.

People were selling everything from quilts, to Christmas ornaments, to hats, to beautiful fused glass (my personal favorite). Someone was actually selling a "bottle tree" which consisted of a pole with dowels extending off (like a tree) with plastic bottles stuck on the ends. Who would pay money for that? Dale wondered how bottle trees were grown so I told him they started out as baby bottles. [Okay, I know that was pretty bad].

We walked around until our feet hurt, stopping to buy sugared pecans, fudge, back scratchers, and miscellaneous other items. We decided we had better leave before the parade began at 11:00 a.m.; otherwise we would be stuck until it was over because the parade route went between the field and the exit road.

We were too slow, however, and had to wait until it was over. Luckily we didn't have too long of a wait. As I was watching the myriad of horseback riders and mules pulling wagons make their way up the parade route, I laughed as a teenage girl rode past me while talking on her cell phone. It seemed strange to have cell phone usage and horseback riding together in one parade. What could be so important that her phone call couldn't wait until after the parade?

At least 60,000 people attend Mule Day each year. About 20,000 were leaving with us after the parade, just as the other 40,000 were arriving. It was a mad dash to get back to the car and get out ahead of the others.

The main drag through Calvary is a two-lane road, so you can imagine the traffic jam. Both lanes of traffic were backed up as far as you could see and even further... and both were at a complete stand still (well our lane was moving more than the lane into Calvary). Surprisingly, it only took us about 15 minutes to get out of the chaos. I felt sorry for the semi driver obviously passing through and unaware of Mule Day. He looked very unhappy as we passed him. And we saw people parking as far as two miles away.

Now I know why they say get there early.

Happy Halloween!

Jessica wanted to be a prom queen for Halloween so naturally I waited until the last minute to think about finding her a costume. We went to the dreaded Wal-Mart yesterday and looked through the already picked over costumes. There was nothing prom queen-related in her size so we settled on a vampire dress, fangs, and long black wig. The fangs came with makeup.

I spent about $30 on the costume, but she was excited so it was all good.

It was crowded in Wal-Mart and there were only three human cashiers, as usual, so against my better judgment I decided to use the self-checkout. What a disaster.

I had to call the cashier over twice to help me. First the fangs wouldn't scan, which sent the computer into lock-down mode and the cashier had to punch in a 14-digit code to clear it. Then I had to get approval from the cashier to purchase beer. Finally, on the way to the car, I glanced at the receipt and noticed I had charged myself twice for the wig, so back we went to get the extra charge refunded.

Of course by this morning Jessica did NOT want to wear the costume because it was too short. And by this afternoon, she didn't want to wear the wig because it made her head itch.

So off she went with her friends to trick or treat with just her fangs and face makeup. But at least I was able to snap this pic while she had the wig on. She looks very much like she does when she is in a bad mood. Ha ha!!

Honor Roll!!

Kudos to Jessica for making A/B honor roll! Way to go Jessie!!!

If she looks like she's sleepy it's because she was!! I took this early this morning.

Just another Saturday

I have been living in this subdivision for almost 11 months now, traveling the main road in and out numerous times daily. There are a couple places where the road has dips. They are not big dips but big enough to cause a bump when driven over.

This morning, I noticed construction saw horses with a caution lights had been placed near the dips and signs posted to watch for the dips. I am wondering why they are cautioning people at this point? Surely whomever authorized the signs already knew about these dips. Maybe they are going to be repaired soon.

••••••••••••••••••••••

On my way to the bank this morning, I was stopped at the intersection of Thomasville and Bannerman Roads in the left hand turn lane. A motorcycle cop with lights flashing pulled out in front of me and the other stopped cars and stopped midway across Bannerman to block us. Then another motorcycle cop pulled into the middle of the intersection and began motioning the already moving traffic to move through the intersection, while he held up his hand in a stop motion towards me and the other cars.

I figured someone important must be coming into town, hence the police escort. As I sat there wondering, I watched the traffic going past me for a bus or a limo or something to indicate the reason why these cops had stopped us. Several semis passed, a tour bus passed, and many cars came through intersection, but nothing special. In the meantime, my red light turned green and then red again as I sat there wondering what was going on.

After a few more minutes. The cop in the middle of the intersection got on his motorcycle and left; the other cop followed.

I wonder if they were pulling a joke or something.

••••••••••••••••••••••

On my way back from the bank, I noticed a woman walking down the main drag of my subdivision while reading a book. Not a paperback book either... a rather large hardbound book. I am curious as to how she can read and walk without getting hit by a car.

Spread the mustard

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100% Punctuation: 80% Spelling: 60% Vocabulary: 20%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

My English just spreads the mustard.

Laurie

Laurie is back in the hospital.

Daddy called me Saturday night to tell me. All we know is that she is in CCU and is in stable condition. Mom said she thought it was the same problem she initially had last February (the first time she went in)... can't remember what that condition was called.

As before, the hospital will not give us details without a "pass code" and we don't know how to get that yet. I think Laurie is the one who has to authorize it but at this point, we don't know her mental state.

Her boyfriend's sister said that Laurie had started drinking again; that she barely weighs 100 lbs.

When I talked to Laurie last month, she told me was 112 lbs. It was an awkward conversation for me. She seemed out of it, slow to respond, almost like she was drunk. But Daddy said that she talks like that now because of having meningitis... it damaged her brain.

I feel numb. I feel bad that I am not more worried, but I just can't think about it.