Post Christmas Lull

It’s that quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s, when I finally have a moment to sit down and say hi.

Hi.

I would like to tell you that we all had a wonderful Christmas, full of joy and cheer and general merriment, but unfortunately, that would not be true. As noted before in my blog and Todd’s, holidays and special occasions tend to trigger some anxieties and heavy emotions for our son. And such was the case on Christmas day.

But we did get to spend time with the family in Bellingham on the day, and Santa brought us a Wii and Rock Band, so on Christmas evening, Kayleigh, Todd and I got our rockin’ on (well, I had a cold, so my “rockin’” was a bit raspy and low energy) and I sung 100% on “Hungry Like the Wolf”. So, that’s something.

Saturday was a semi-lazy day, with a quick trip out to Doug and Ann’s for their holiday open house. The rest of the weekend was spent in jammies, either reading or watching movies and eating. A perfect weekend in my book.

And now I am back at work. I’m still sniffling and sneezing, and I’m just pooped from actually being up and awake for so long, but hopefully, I am on the mend and ready for a par-tay on Thursday night.

Oh, but there won’t really be a par-tay. We’re just hanging with Trish and Dan and playing games. I wanted to go to a par-tay so I could get all gussied up and wear uncomfortable shoes, but neither one of us are up for that this year. We’re looking forward to a nice, quiet evening with a couple of good friends. Very low key. Very low energy.

Unlike 2009.

At least we get to be together this year.

Christmas Never Ends!

I’m still trying to get caught up on all of the blogs I read, after missing a few weeks back in January, so I just noticed that Creth, of Acid Indignation, tagged me on the big Christmas meme that went around this year. This, after Lucy tagged me and I completely missed it. (Apparently, so did Todd, as it took two taggings to get him to do this.)

I feel so loved and popular. Thanks guys.

Here we go (two months late, and because I have nothing else to share with you right now). And my apologies, Stephen. I know how you feel about dragging this Christmas crap out.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. Just reading the words “egg nog” makes me wanna barf.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa leaves them unwrapped, under the tree. Everyone else wraps them. That’s the best part of waking up Christmas morning. The new stuff that Santa leaves!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White. Although I did multi in '07 just because I had them and they were very pretty on the tree.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. Where does one find mistletoe? Besides at the florist shop at Christmas?

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Day after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
We never really had a holiday dish. Other than the green bean casserole with the French’s onions on top. I think that was only for turkey day, though.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Wow. I honestly can’t think of one. Christmases were always exciting and fun in my house. Maybe it’s not that I can’t think of one. Maybe it’s that they were all my favorite.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
What do you mean?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
My folks and I used to open one gift on Christmas Eve. Then it turned into however many we wanted, which turned into opening them as they arrived in the mail in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We’re all about instant gratification.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Uh, by hand? Is there a special contraption out there that will do it for me?
We used to lights, garland and ornaments. Since I’ve been having my own tree, I leave off the garland.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
Loved it before Dec 08. Now, not so much. It’s pretty for the first day, then it’s just a pain in the ass.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yep. And do one of those skate on one leg while the other one is out behind you moves. What’s that called? Google is no help to me.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Oh, there were so many. The Pizza Hut playdoh factory (when I was 17), the trampoline (when I was 8), the Swatch watch my daddy gave me.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Giving presents. I love a reason to buy for people.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Yes.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
It used to be driving around with my mom, looking at lights in the neighborhood. I’m not sure if Todd and I have any traditions just yet. Seeing as how we just spent our first Christmas together.

17. What tops your tree?
Now, the tree is too tall for a topper. But in the past, my family had one of those cheesy, tinsely, multi-colored light things that blinks.

18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving?
Giving. But like receiving a lot, too.
(You have no idea how long it took me to answer this question. My mind is absolutely filthy.)

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Ack. Just one? “Fairytale in New York” by the Pogues. “Baby, Please Come Home” by U2. “Blue Christmas” by Elvis.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yuck. They get old after a couple of licks.
Yeah, I said it. Licks.
(See? Filthy.)

21. What do you want for Christmas?
Peace and love.
And an engagement ring.
Oh wait!! I already got that!!

Okay. Christmas is officially over now.
I mean it.

Merry Belated Christmas!

What a week we've had.

Home on Monday. Made it to work on Tuesday, thanks to a co-worker who lives nearby and her all wheel Honda Element. Home on Wednesday. Christmas Day! And home today.

Actually, Wednesday and today are vacation days so I don't feel so bad about being home.

Christmas was lovely. The kids let us sleep until 7am, then started banging on the bedroom door. We were scheduled to go to Bellingham to be with Todd's family, but the roads were still icy, so we planned a second Christmas in January. In the meantime, Gavin, Michelle, Doug and Ann all came over for breakfast and presents, then headed out to beat the freeze. So the Downing clan and I had a nice Christmas dinner, just the four of us.

And would you believe it? It snowed yesterday. Really. Big fluffy flakes. Now we're above freezing and it's just raining, but it's still icy and slick out. I need to shovel the driveway a little more and clear a spot for Ruby as I will attempt to get her out of the carport today. Todd got Sportacus out yesterday, but it took a few tries. Hopefully, he cleared enough of a path for Ruby to follow.

Because I'm supposed to have dinner with Jamie tonight! My first outing since Sunday, Dec 14th. Todd and I are both going stir crazy. He went to lunch with a friend today so when he gets back, I'll head to Jamie's.

Again, provided I can get Ruby out.

Blue Decorations

Let me tell you about my mom.

My mom is an impulsive gal. She gets something in her head and BAM, done. Sound familiar? She decided a year or two ago, she wanted hardwood floors in their house. Two weeks later, they had hardwood floors. Most people would deliberate a while. Not my mother. She wants it, it’s done. And that is why I love her.

It was the same with our houses. I think I’ve mentioned I lived in about 10 different houses growing up. We rented, so when the lease was up, we’d, more often than not, move. I don’t know what Dad would say, but I know Mom would get bored with the houses. It's funny, I can still remember the names of the streets. Austin (rust colored carpet), Glenview (for two weeks and we were there over Halloween), Molina (grey arches on both sides of the fireplace), Remington (bushes out front that smelled like cat pee), Papoose (trampoline!), Whitefeather (on the golf course, 2nd hole), Something Bear (red kitchen countertops), Appaloosa (on the lake, hot tub – our own little mansion). Then I moved out on my own (and had three different addresses in three years).

I think I’m missing one between Austin and Glenview.

But I digress.

If you remember, I told you that when we first moved to Texas, we didn’t have a lot of money so Mom and I made Christmas decorations. But then Mom got her job as a legal secretary at a swanky law firm in downtown Houston and boy howdy, no more making decorations! We BOUGHT decorations.

You could say that the money went to our head.

One year, when we were living the Molina house, Mom got a wild hair and declared we were not doing red this year for Christmas. No sir. She wanted blue decorations. So off to TG&Y we went to buy blue lights, blue garland and blue ornaments. I wish I could find the picture of our house decked out in blue lights. The vision I have in my head is a little gloomy.

This is what I see in my head whenever I hear BB King’s “Blue Decorations”. Our blue Christmas.

The next year, Mom was over the blue and declared we would do white decorations. We did white for a few years in a row after that. Then Dad got all cranky because he had been begging for multicolored for years and we kept vetoing him, so we gave in and let him have his multicolored decorations. I’ve never been a fan of multicolored.

Anyway, I’m doing manual labor at work today and listening to my Christmas playlist on my iPod. And when “Blue Decorations” came on, I thought of our blue decorations on Molina Street.

Well, first I started shakin’ my booty.
Then I thought of the decorations.

Weekend Update

The weekend was good. But the week leading up to it was….off. Stars out of alignment, bad juju in the air, the Universe had PMS….I don’t know. But suffice it to say, here we are at Monday and everything has shaken out and life is good again.

Saturday was muey productive. Shipped mom and dad’s Christmas box home, went grocery shopping as Kim-n-Tim were coming over for dinner, vacuumed the upstairs (utter joy!) and helped TBBE hang the Christmas lights.

And here’s my I-am-woman-hear-me-roar story. We don’t have an exend-o ladder. Just a regular ol’ five foot ladder. You know I’m not good with measuring and math and all that, so when Todd said he was going to put lights up on the house, I envisioned the lights going up along the roof, which included the point above the front door and porch.

But the five foot ladder wouldn’t reach the point, even with a 6’4” tall guy on top of it.

Well. This would never do. The vision has been created, and you know I cannot deviate from the vision. If we couldn’t do the point, then I didn’t want lights on the house at all. I even walked down to the neighbor’s house because I saw an extend-o ladder in their carport (taunting me!) and no, I didn’t know them, but dammit, I wanted lights on the point!

The neighbors weren’t home. And their very large great dane was not happy that I woke him up.

Then there was talk of getting on the roof. Sure, Todd could get on the roof. He’s done it before. But Todd is a big man and if he falls, it’s going to hurt a lot more than if I fall. And I’m the one with the health insurance, so…..

Up on the roof I go! Because I wanted the lights on the point! And you know what? Roofs in Seattle are a bit more slanted than the roofs in Houston. And they have moss. I used to get up on the roof every year with Dad and hang lights. Well, he hung lights. I watched and generally just felt cool being up on the roof.

Roof is a funny word when you type it a lot.

Anyway, up on the roof I go. Trying to squeeze the staple gun was the hardest part of the process. That and leaning over the edge to make sure I was stapling them in a straight line. Cause you know Rae-rae – if they’re not in a straight line, what’s the point?

But all ends well! I survived the roof and the lights are in a straight line. For the most part. Now we just need to do the long side of the front and maybe, if we have enough lights, along the carport.

Sorry we slacked on taking pics.
But please enjoy TBBE’s rendering of the event.

That evening, Kim-n-Tim came over for some of my delicious veggie enchiladas. Milo stayed at home to chill with Grandma and Tyler and his buddy were holed up in his room, so we had some nice adult conversations, followed by a game of Apples to Apples. It was good to hang out with them for an extended period of time. And they had only met Todd at Milo’s birthday party back in June, so Saturday, everyone really had a chance to get to know each other.

That night, upon getting ready for bed, I made the mistake of taking two Benadryl. Elvis had been lovin’ on me and I had some itchy patches on my neck from him.

Well, just a warning. Two Benadryl is one too many. Knocked my ass out. At 10:30 Sunday morning, Todd came in to wake me and tell me he had made pancakes and I was still at the drooling stage of my slumber. Knocked.Out.

I finally got up and made it to the table for breakfast, but I was in a sleepy haze and barely remember eating at all. After breakfast, and checking my email, I laid on the couch and dozed alittle more. But we had a holiday open house that afternoon so I had to bring myself around sooner rather than later.

The open house was lovely. Yummy food and a great lesson on making turtles. The candy. Not the reptile. And funny thing – the host is a friend of Todd’s and a reader of our blogs. She and I have emailed about books and West Seattle, but I’d never met her before. This blogging is a funny thing.

And after the open house, back into the jammies just in time to watch the Seahawks completely screw themselves out of a win against the Patriots. They were winning!! The whole game, they were winning!! And the fumbled. Patriots won. Ack.

Then came home made pizza for dinner, followed by a couple episodes of Buffy, all the while doing laundry, followed by Sunday night animation. And at 9:30, bed. Blah.

Whew!
More info than you ever wanted to know about my weekend, huh?

Random Thoughts

I think I'm poor.
No, I know I'm poor. How do I know this?

I've been eating Cup O'Noodles or Top Ramen noodles for lunch for three weeks. Four for a $1! But I'm kinda sick of noodles now. I'd like some fresh vegetables, please.

**********

And I think I'm morphing into a mom. How do I know this?
I can't remember when I painted my nails last. Just can't seem to find the time to either.

So Jamie and I have manicure appointments tomorrow evening. Gift cards are a beautiful thing.

**********

I haven't shaved my legs in over a week either, but I thought that might be too much information.

I did, however, "schedule" a bath for this evening, so we can remedy that. And yes, I shower every day. Just so you know....

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The Christmas cards are almost ready. The address and return address labels are typed; we just need to sign them and stuff them and stamp them.

There's another sign that my free time has dwindled. No homemade cards this year. Oh, you still get a picture, but we bought these beautiful Papyrus cards and just did up some Word labels. Much quicker.

**********

I bought my plane ticket to Texas for the big retirement move.

Did I not tell you about the big retirement move?

My parents have sold their house, so I'm driving with them from Texas to West Virginia, up to Pisswilly Ranch. This trip was originally supposed to be next summer, but once the house sold, mom and dad said there ain't no way they're waiting. So, we're shippin out on December 29th. I shit you not.

The ranch has already gotten about 8 inches of snow. Should make for a fun drive.

And, of course, there will be a stop in Louisiana for a little gamblin'. Cause that's whatcha do when yer retired.

**********

Work is work. Not too bad. Except for the whole getting-up-at-6:00am thing. Well, 6:15am. Sometimes 6:30am. Cause Rae-rae ain't so good at early.

And apparently, just typing about West Virginia makes me twang like a country bumpkin.

Yeehaw.

**********

Okay. Lunch is over.
It was nice chatting with you. Do be sure to stop back by.

Crazy Busy. Can't Form A Thought. Feeling Guilty For Not Posting.

Turkey day good. Bird still frozen. Almost five hours in oven. No one got sick. Lots o'wine. Shaun came! Called mom and dad. Both in rare form. Raunchy jokes abound. TBBE still loves me.

Black Friday. Minimal shopping. Couldn't find JoAnne's. Must have closed. Didn't get stocking hangers. Dammit. We survived Home Depot. Got a trash can.

Decorating that afternoon. Pretty tree. Lots of memories. Some sad. But good. Feelin' the spirit.

That night, girlie sleepover. K's friend. Watched Sixteen Candles. Donger need food! In bed early.

Saturday. Uh....

Wait. Gimme a minute.....

Slept in. I think. Pancakes for everyone. Twilight plans dashed. Dinner instead. Kyle at Kiss Cafe. Sleepovers for both kids. Partying it up, kidless style.

Sunday. Really slept in. Lunch. Wrapping presents. Twilight with Trish and Dan. Oh gawd. At least Edward is pretty. Goulash for dinner. Mom would be proud. Sunday night cartoons with the kids. Bed.

Today.
Ack.
I see wine in my near future.......

Home for Christmas, Final Day

The bags are packed
The zippers are strained
In a few short hours
I'll be back on a plane.

Last minute lovin'
From a kitty so sweet
But not too much
Cause I don't wanna sneeze.

Goodbye dear Houston
Not my cup of tea
I long for Seattle
Where I can be me.

I shall eat my tofu
And sushi and soy
No one to mock me
No one to annoy

Curled up in my fleece
Not shorts and a tee
Watching the rain
Just as it should be

A nice visit with the folks
Much needed, I'll say
But it's time to go home
Until another day.

Home for Christmas, Day 5

* I awoke at 9am to the sound of rain. Lots of rain. Cow-pissin'-on-a-flat-rock kind of rain. And a little bit of thunder.

* Shower, dressed, coffee, oatmeal, then out to the door. By myself. My godmother was taking me shopping. Look out!

* Sushi, Banana Republic, Express, Ann Taylor, Talbots, Gap and finally.......Starbucks. Ah. New pants, shirt, sweater and dress. And cute, little nighty that I treated myself to. Cause I'm all single and gettin' smaller and one of these days (if I don't piss off kharma again) I will have a reason to wear a cute, little nighty. Dammit.

* Home to figure out how to pack all of these presents. Mom has to give me yet another bag. Which is what I was avoiding because everytime I come home (even when it's not christmas) I end up going back with so much stuff, I need another bag. They're piling up in my storge area.

* Dinner.

* Pie. Oh god, the pie. I've eaten more sweets in the last five days than I probably have since June. Except for the Ben & Jerry's kick I got on in November. Which, due to an exorbitant amount of stress, was very much warranted. Let's not talk about that.

* TV. Lounging on the couch with the cat. Sneezing my head off. But Goober is worth the sneezing. Such a cutie.

* Blog time. Then bedtime. If I can bring myself to turn off the TV before midnight. So many channels!!

Pic of the day:

I didn't take any pictures today, so please enjoy this photo of me. Age 4. Ah, my modeling days. My mom's boss at the time, an amateur photographer, shot a whole series of our family. And they're all just great. I don't know where the rest of them are. I just ran across this one by accident. And mom has a scanner! So no more taking pictures of pictures! At least, until I get home......

Home for Christmas, Day 4

* I am awakened at 9am. Mom's ready to open gifts. She's waited long enough.

* We open gifts. I got foo-foo bath stuff, a hat, a scarf, fleece, picture frame and cash. Can't go wrong with cash.

* Breakfast - at 11am. Dad was getting weak.

* More iTunes coaching. Mom has now bought songs, made two playlists and is almost ready to burn a cd. It's very exciting.

* Lazy, lazy afternoon. Lots of laying around. A perfect day. I brought a book, but have yet to pick it up. But I'm relaxing and that was the goal of this vacation. It's all about me!

* Dinner, entirely provided by Honeybaked Ham. Ham, potatoes au gratin, and baked apples. It was a christmas gift. Made a salad and some greenbean casserole and had pumpkin pie for dessert. I'll be curious to weigh myself Monday at work.

* TV time. Mom and dad actually watched Family Guy with me. And laughed! I can't get them to eat better, but I can get them to watch raunchy cartoons with me. Point for Rae!

* Blogging time. Soon, bedtime.

Pic of the day:

You may wonder why I don't mention dad very often. This is what dad does. He's got a nice little smoking lounge set up out in the garage. And yes, that's a heater at his feet. And cable on the TV. He has all of the comforts of the living room, plus a lovely view of the driveway and the cars.

Home for Christmas, Day 3

* Up at 9am, after not sleeping much last night. Not sure why.

* Off to mom's office, where we met her friend Carol and looked at the christmas decorations in her office. They go all out and it is a cut throat competition. Mom keeps me posted on the developments. There's the Hall of Fame and the Hall of Shame. There are categories and very large prizes for each category. Hard to believe they're a bunch of attorneys.

* After touring the office (all three floors) we head to lunch. Afterwards, I get another peppermint mocha. I will not let the peppermint mocha master me. This time, I kept the peppermint mocha down. I win.

* Home to bond with daddy. We watch Bubba Ho-Tep, which I bought him three years ago for christmas but he's never watched it. He liked it.

* Off to Blockbuster Video to rent The Ref. Because I was in a mood. My only solo venture out of the house thus far. I hit Hobby Lobby, too. Just cause I can.

* Dinner. Homemade pizza.

* For some reason, mom and I started going through her junk drawer and we ran across a ton of her old glasses. She doesn't throw them away. They just keep piling up. I couldn't resist a tour through the years.

How were these ever popular?

I look like Joey Ramone:

Yellow? Really?

* Watched The Ref with dad, while having a glass of wine.

Yes, I had some wine. Every christmas eve, Steve and I would go out for a fancy dinner, then come home, open a bottle of champagne and open our gifts. That way, we'd get to sleep in christmas morning, before we headed out to his family's place. I am sad this christmas eve. It's different and it hurts. I think all the first times will be sad. First christmas, first new year's eve, first valentine's day. And oh shit, our anniversary is (er, was) January 4. That should be fun. Once I accomplish all the firsts, I should be fine, but change is weird. Gotta get through the change.

* Mom and dad go to bed, I blog, then hopefully will get some sleep tonight. I'm sure mom will start itching to wake me bright and early tomorrow. I told her she has to wait until at least 8am. Just give me that.....

Bonus pic of the day:

My mother's desk at work. This is where I get it from.

I wanted to take a picture of dad's sock drawer but she didn't like that idea. It was priceless. I put away his socks and hankerchiefs (after folding them like little flags because it makes them laugh) and I cracked up. The drawer is full of gray socks, all folded the same way, all placed in there the same way. Just beautiful.

Home for Christmas, Day 2

* Slept until 11am. Woohoo!

* Got up because I felt guilty.

* Breakfast - kolaches. Love, love, love kolaches. The Texas version normally has ham and cheese, or egg and cheese, or something breakfasty in them. That's good eatin'.

* Off to the Dollar General store. Treated myself to a red fleece and new gray sweatpants. I keep saying, "I need new sweatpants!" but then I think, "No, I need something semi-cute to lounge around in instead of sweatpants. Sweatpants are not hot."

* Home, back into the sweatpants.

* Tech support. Photos won't print (but they do for me!), labels won't print (but they do for me!). Mom curses me out of frustration.

* Football! Didn't get to watch my Seahawks but they beat the Ravens! Watched the Patriots. They won. Big surprise. And the Redskins won! Yay!

* Dinner. Open faced turkey sandwiches. Which mom has to teach me to assemble. I've never had an open faced sandwich.

* Neighbors come by to exchange gifts. I get cash that will go to The New Pants Fund.

* Watch the news. The weather will be a whopping 54 degrees tomorrow. Yeah. Brr. When we were leaving the house today, mom said to get a sweater because it was cold out! 49 degrees. Oooh, scare me. No wonder she doesn't like Seattle.

Pic of the day:

This is a stocking from my kindergarten class. I think it's hysterical that my name is spelled wrong. I think it's even more hysterical that when I mentioned this to my mom, she replied "You wrote that!"

I just looked at her, dumbfounded.

I said, "I was five years old! I didn't write that! My TEACHER wrote that!"

It took my mom a minute. Then she said, "Oh. Right."

Ah, it's good to be home.........

Home for Christmas, Day 1

* Home from the airport at 6:45am.

* Snooze for an hour on the couch, off to breakfast.

* Home from breakfast, regroup, off to grocery store. I could have stayed home, but I was assured this was a quick trip, unlike my visit in June.

* Home from grocery store, shower, into jammies, show and tell.

* Two hour nap on couch, then awakened at 4:30 to go to dinner

* Arrive at restaurant, but restaurant had burned to the ground. Apparently in the last couple of days. Poo. Off to Applebees. Because I woke up and put on a bra so, dammit, we were eating out somewhere.

* Home from dinner, back into jammies, ice skating that mom had taped. And one performance was actually worth listening to Barry Manilow sing most of the time. Mom and I laughed our asses off.

* Folks go to bed. I blog.

Pic of the day:

What Do You Like About Christmas?

This came to me in an email, but since I don't like to forward these things (but I do love talking about myself), this is where the blog comes in handy!

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1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Real, now that I'm a Pacific Northwesterner.

3. When do you put up the tree? (I would like to take a minute to acknowledge the term "put up". Steve used to mock me for using "up". Putting up decorations, etc. I say Ha!)
Normally, the weekend after Thanksgiving. But with real trees, it's good to wait until the second weekend in December. Especially because of #4.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Around Valentine's Day.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Oh god no. Drinking raw eggs? Aside from bodybuilders, who does that?

6. What was your favorite gift received as a child?
I can't pinpoint one thing, but I LOVED that there were unwrapped presents under the tree Christmas morning that weren't there the night before. That was the absolute best part.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Nope. Don't even have a village.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My dad. By the time I hear that he wants it, he's already gone out and bought it.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
My mom. If it's got a hummingbird on it, she's getting it for Christmas.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
The first one that comes to mind is the blue sweatshirt with a very large cat face on the front of it. I was 17. Mom remembers it. I tried to give it to her.

11. Mail or email cards?
Mail, of course! By the way, I mailed my cards last night and you'll just have to excuse the fact that they're metered. Sip-n-Ship was, again, out of holiday stamps and I just wanted to get the damn things mailed. I was even willing to go with the Kwanza stamps, just to stay in the spirit, but no. So they're metered. Please forgive me.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
The Ref, with Dennis Leary. Maybe the only Christmas movie with the F word in it. But I only have it on VHS now and I lost the VCR in the break up. Hint hint.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Around November.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Probably.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Chocolate covered cherries and chocolate covered peanuts. And chocolate covered anything, with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate sauce. With a side of chocolate.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear, although I have multi colored this year. I'm not happy about it. Long story. But the tree is pretty and that's all that matters.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
There's so many - Christians & the Pagens by Dar Williams, Fairytale of New York by the Pogues, Merry Christmas from the Family by Jill Sobule, Blue Christmas by Elvis.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home?
Travel home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Um.....Sneezy, Dasher, Brian, Blitzen, Murray, Siegfried and Roy?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Neither. I have a bell-wreath-thing. I improvised. I would prefer a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning. Although my family always opened one the night before. Or as they arrived in the mail. Cause we're impatient like that.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The Salvation Army bells outside EVERY FREAKIN' STORE. I still give them money. I just hate those damn bells.

23. What I love most about Christmas?
All of the lights and the chance of snow.

I Think It's Going To Be A Long Time Before I Find Someone Who Will Date Me

So I have a christmas playlist on my iPod. I've been listening to it at work, and I'm listening to it now as I clean. Most of the songs are BB King or Elvis. Those are the only christmas cds I have. The rest of the songs are random. U2's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", Jill Sobule's "Merry Christmas From the Family", Wham's "Last Christmas", The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York".

Anyway.

I realized I was skipping over alot of the Elvis songs while the iPod was going. One of the christmas cds I have of his is mostly gospel, and while I like gospel, I don't like to listen it to at work or while I'm in the christmas spirit. So I was skipping through the playlist alot. Which defeats the purpose of having a playlist.

So this morning, I edited the playlist and now only have four Elvis tunes on there. And as I was listening to the songs this morning, Wham's song came on. I hadn't heard it yet while listening to my playlist. There was too much Elvis. Elvis was taking up the whole damn playlist! But now that there's only four Elvis songs, some of the other songs get a chance to play.

And when Wham came on, I swear George Michael sounded especially happy, almost as if he were saying "Thank god you got that fat guy off the playlist! Now we can be heard!" And I actually said aloud, "You're welcome, Wham."

No man will find this kind of cutesy crazy desirable, will they?

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Man

I got a christmas tree tonight. A seven footer. ALL BY MYSELF.
(This is the best picture out all 20 that I took. It's not easy to get a non-blurry shot of a lit tree.)

I carried that baby up to the register, I carried her to the car, I crammed her in the car, I got her in my apartment (in the torrential downpour, thank you very much), I put her in the stand, I held on to her with one hand while I twisted the little bolt thingies to hold her in place and I put the lights on her ALL BY MYSELF.

Men? Ha! I laugh at men!!
(Except when I lay down in bed at night and it's really cold and no one has warmed up my side.)

Ahem! Movin' on!

A brief tour of my decorated home.
These are the candy canes that mom made when I was seven years old. We had just moved to Texas and we didn't have a lot of money for fancy decorations. So mom bought a bunch of pipe cleaners and white beads and we made candy canes. If you knew my mother, you'd be impressed. Crafty she is not. She also made trees out of triangle foam and green pipe cleaners. I think she still has those.

This is my great grandma, Mabel.

These are the waxy, sticky things someone made (Candy?) back when I was a toddler. I have the small set, mom still has the big set. I also have pilgrims and turkeys for thanksgiving, rabbits and eggs for easter, a witch and ghosts for halloween and a Snoopy and Cookie Monster and some little birds. Actually, I don't remember what happened to Cookie Monster and the birds. I think Snoopy is still on the fridge at the folks.

My anti-christmas coasters and pretty new candle holders.

My Martha-Stewart-every-department-store decoration. So simple, so beautiful. I almost broke myself last year trying to find a damn vase to hold these balls. But finally! At Value Village! And I just noticed that the vase is not centered on the table. If I had any energy at all (and wasn't about to fall asleep) I would fix it, take another picture and post that one. But alas, I don't have it in me. Just know that it bugs me, too.

My glass snowman that I intend to fill with something red and green so he's got some substance.

And even my bathroom is festive.

Christmas-smishmas

I'm so ready for this year to be over. '07 can just bite my ass. If it's not one thing, it's another and I am so sick of crying and my head permanently hurts now.

Strife and conflict and pain, oh my!

I tried to get in the holiday spirit (my very FAVORITE spirit) on Sunday. Really, I did. I brought the bins up, I put out the pretty snowman placemats, I put garland around the door. Then just petered out. I'm still debating on whether or not to get a tree. I think it would make me happy. Until it turns brown.

I'm helping Rachelle (newly separated from a Steve, too. Funny.) decorate this weekend, so maybe that will help me get into the swing of things. She actually emailed and said "Wanna come help? I want to do it, but it's just too depressing to do it alone." I hear ya, sista.

But!

2008 is a mere five weeks away! I'm already working on resolutions.

Weight loss is not one of them.

Random Thoughts

Did I mention I bought my plane ticket home for christmas? I can't remember. I *finally* got my time approved (after I wrote out my resignation later and signed it, just in case it came to that) so I get the whole week of christmas off. Yay!

I almost bought an orange chair from Goodwill ($10!) for the living room last night. It was comfy and relatively unscathed. There were a couple of dirty patches but Kim bought me a steam cleaner for my birthday so I could have steam cleaned it. I was just about to go up to the front and tell them to load it up for me when I had a thought.....maybe I just smell it. See if it's musty, or if there were pets. And one quick smell was all it took. Apparently, it was at Goodwill for a reason. And the owner had a cat that wasn't litterbox trained. So, no chair. But I did buy a little coffee canister and two shirts.

I'm sitting here, eating my lunch (Amy's frozen teriyaki bowl), and I'm already thinking it's not going to be enough and what can I buy from the Bistro to supplement this. That's probably not good, is it?

I've had other random thoughts lately, but they're not coming to me right now. I need to start jotting these things down. I've had to starting making lists of things I need from the store because I just can't remember anything these days. Maybe my mind is enjoying not being responsible for a two people anymore so it's taking a bit of a vacation. I don't leave the house without my little list now. Colored key covers so I can distinquish my building key from my apartment key. A 2008 calender that will fit in my purse so I can keep my social calendar with me at all times. A staple gun so I can staple the 100 ft phone cord to the baseboards and the doorway trim because it's just resting there now and I know I'm going to trip on it. Things like that.

Where was I?
Oh, yes.

I can't think of any of my other random thoughts right now. Sorry.

Suddenly It's Christmas

I went to JC Penny's last night, and when I walked in, the first thing I saw was a christmas tree. Right beside the halloween stuff.

It's October! What happen to the fall stuff? The pumpkins, the scarecrows, the orange, green and red? Didn't stores used to wait until at least November to put out the christmas stuff? I was almost unhappy to see the pretty lights and the fake santas. And that makes me sad. Because I absolutely L O V E the holiday season.

However, it reminded me of one of my favorite christmas songs. I couldn't find any video of it being performed and I don't know how to put music on here - I'm working on it. And even though you can't hear the tune, the lyrics are fabulous:

Suddenly, It’s Christmas
by Loudon Wainwright III
(copied from LyricsPlayground.com)

Suddenly, it’s Christmas
Right after Hallowe'en
Forget about Thanksgiving
It's just a buffet in between
There's lights and tinsel in the windows
They're stocking up the shelves
Santa's slaving at the North Pole
In his sweatshop full of elves

There's got to be a build-up
To the day that Christ was born
The halls are decked with pumpkins
And the ears of Indian corn
Dragging through the falling leaves
In a one-horse open sleigh
Suddenly, it’s Christmas
Seven weeks before the day

Suddenly, it’s Christmas
The longest holiday
When they say "Season's Greetings"
They mean just what they say
It's a season, it's a marathon,
Retail eternity
It's not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree

Outside it's positively balmy,
In the air nary a nip
Suddenly, it’s Christmas
Unbuttoned and unzipped
Yes, they're working overtime
Santa's little runts
Christmas comes but once a year
And goes on for two months

Christmas carols in December and November, too
It's no wonder we're depressed
When the whole thing is through
Finally it's January
Let's sing "Auld Lang Syne"
But here comes another heartache
Shaped like a Valentine

Suddenly, it’s Christmas
The longest holiday
The season is upon us
A pox, it won't go away
It's a season, it's a marathon,
Retail eternity
It's not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree

No, it's not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree
It's still not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree