50 posts tagged “holidays”

COME ON, BRAIN!  WAKE UP!  If we do what needs to be done today, we'll be sitting pretty for tomorrow's meeting.  *SLAP* WAKE UP!!!

Twitter is vexing me.  I still don't know what I have to say that would be worth twittering, and with only two tweets out there, I'm collecting more camera whores, skanks and spammers than I have real friends following me.  I'm not sure if it's even worth the trouble to keep blocking these people, but I HATE that they're there.  I wish that when you blocked someone, they'd drop from your list of followers.  I've heard it said that with twitter, like with almost everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it.  Fair enough.  I just don't know what to put into it.  I'm not a talker.  Blogging is one thing: I see it mostly as talking to myself.  Tweeting feels more like shouting at the world, ...and I got nothin'.  I am enjoying following Eddie Izzard, Wil Wheaton, Nathan Fillion and Neil Gaiman, but even then, catching up on tweets when I've been away for a few hours feels like such a timesuck.  I'm thinking this is one service that's just not for me, but I'm going to ride it out a while. Maybe something will eventually click.

It's cold this morning.  I have on socks, pants, and a sweatshirt, and I've gone back to hot coffee.  It's weird for July.  My brain knows it's July, but I keep slipping into September.

Still no rain.  I hope we get some.  My garden isn't terribly dry, but I'm sure it would still like some rain.

Speaking of my garden, I have flowers on my peas and tomatoes, the zucchini is ready to flower, and I've seen one huge bloom on one of the pumpkin vines growing beside the compost pile.  The lettuce is growing like crazy.  I pull some every day, and the lettuce bed still looks packed solid.

I'm excited for the long weekend.  I've so much I want to do, and I'm really looking forward to the fireworks.  That's one of my favorite events of the year, one of our favorite traditions.

Ok, so I'm starting to feel some enthusiasm for *something*.  I must be waking up finally.  Time to get some work done.

My ear and the left side of my head still hurt like crazy.  Now I'm getting those jolts of stabbing pain too.  Fun.  Stupid allergies!

Craig went out at lunch time and managed to get both cars open, started, and somewhat warmed up and cleared off.  The windshield wipers on his car won't wipe though, and no one can fix it until tomorrow, so we're going into town in a bit here to drop off his car and do the last of our shopping.

I haven't done any baking yet today, but I did finish ...er, "finishing" my nephew's gift.  I can't wait to post pictures!  I can't wait to see what he thinks of it!  :)

Hopefully we won't be too long in town.  I still need to slap some henna on my head, make gingerbread, lemon cookies and buckeyes, and get some wrapping done tonight.  I still have some holiday cards I'd like to send too.  Hopefully I can get those done tonight.  They might not be delivered before Xmas, but they'll definitely be there before New Years!

The newer car wouldn't start this morning, and the doors are frozen shut on the older one, so Craig is working from home.  The car troubles turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it turns out the heat is out at the office.  In fact, Craig *just* informed me they've officially closed the office until the heat is fixed.  So our very smart cars saved him over an hour of driving this morning by not letting him leave.  Thank you, cars.

I'd planned on hitting the grocery store up for some cookie essentials, and doing the very last of my gift shopping today.  I'm thinking now that errands can wait until tomorrow, when it's supposed to be warmer, like in the 20s verses the single digits on either side of 0.  In the mean time, I may need to rethink my baking strategy so I can still get some done today with whatever supplies I can find at the small store across the street.  The gingerbread may be out if they don't carry molasses, and it's very unlikely I'll find vanilla bark or meringue powder there, but I'll find some very simple recipes I can bake today and hopefully I'll get to the store tomorrow morning.

As for the last of the gift shopping, if I really think about it, I'm pretty sure I can find a few things around the house that will work in a pinch.  The last person I need to shop for is very artistic, so worst case scenario, I bundle myself up so much that I can't put my arms down, and I toddle down the street to the art store for gift-worthy supplies.  We'll save that option as a last resort though.  I still have tomorrow.

And it looks like I only have tomorrow morning.  There's another winter storm warning for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning, and they're calling for more ice.  I don't mind if the weather makes me have to go with Plan B as far as baking and gifting go, but I'm really hoping it doesn't interfere with our holiday visiting schedule this year.  For the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm content with our visiting schedule and feeling absolutely no anxiety over it.

No.  You know what, I'm not even worried about the weather changing our visiting plans.  I'm as cool as the thermometer is this year.  (I wonder if my temperament is weather related.)  I'll be disappointed if the weather messes up our plans, but I'll roll with it.

Last night, while I was still fighting some hard core badittude, the television was irritating me *A LOT*.  Because I was not in my right mind, instead of turning it off, I was the Goldilocks of the remote control, trying to find the option that was just right.  When I saw "The 12 Days of Redneck Christmas" on CMT in the program guide, ...I just HAD TO!

O.M.G!  They say laughter is the best medicine, and this show was HILARIOUS!!!!

    "Lookit that BOY in that bubble!"

    "Just yell if ya stop breathin'."

    "I don't want to alarm y'all, but we got a 'possum on the loose.  We need to find him because that's our Christmas dinner."  (unfortunately for the opossum, he wasn't kidding)

...and my absolute favorite:

    "That's not mistletoe.  That's a damn squirrel's nest!"

I laughed and laughed and laughed.  The fun thing though, is that these people seemed to be really having a crazy-good time.  :)  I have to say, the rednecks got it right; that's what the holidays should be like for everyone!  ...Though I could certainly do without the toilet seat horseshoe game.  ...among other things.

I highly recommend watching online or looking for the re-airings and having a laugh or ten.

I'm trying so hard not to be cranky, but it's a huge battle today.  I think I'm just worn out from all the recent social activities, because I can't find any other reasons for the irritability.  It could be hormones (looking at the calendar) but whatever it is, I'm really trying to fight the badittude.

Well, there are a few things I've let get under my skin recently.  I've been trying to just ignore them, but I think I do need to vent a little.

1.  If I hear/see one more person state, "It's ok to say 'Merry Christmas'," I am going to kill them.  Of course it's ok, especially if you're saying it to someone who celebrates Christmas.  It's also ok to say "Happy Holidays", you condescending jerks.  There are a lot of winter holidays and yours is just one of them.  And for your information, *axial tilt* is the reason for the season.

2.  Twitter is the most annoying thing ever developed.  If it just went out to people who sign up for twitter, I could really care less about it.  What the hell is up with all the @____ twitters?!!!  Why can't twitter figure out how to send that ONLY to the person being addressed?  Is there ANYTHING more annoying than being bombarded with half conversations all day long???  I've figured out how to block twitter on FriendFeed, now I have to hunt down some scripts that are supposed to block it from my LJ friend page.  I'm not sure if it's possible to block it on my Vox neighborhood page or on Facebook, but I'll be looking for that too.  -  Now, given all that, I would like to whitelist a person or two.  For every twenty to thirty people I see twittering, there's at least one person who's actually only twittering interesting/entertaining information.  But again, I never signed up for Twitter, so why am I being bombarded with it EVERYWHERE???

3.  ARGH!  [I had something else written here, but I'm still working through this one and there's no sense venting publicly (as sweet as it would feel) until I've sorted out all my thoughts on the matter.]

Ok.  I admit, I do feel a little better for getting that stuff off my chest.  At least now, maybe my brain will quit stewing on it all.

And because I really do not want to be cranky or spread grief, some balance.  Here are some things saving my sanity:

1)  Holiday cards, most especially the homemade ones and ones with glitter.  It's near impossible for me to not feel the warm fuzzies when the postal carrier is stuffing my mailbox with holiday cards, and when I open them and see glitter, I actually giggle with delight.  Thank you to all who've sent me some holiday cheer!  You've literally made my day.  *HUGS*

2) Holiday food is evil good.  I shouldn't be eating/drinking the things I am.  I'm overweight enough as it is.  I'm trying very hard to keep the treats in moderation, but it's really nice having treats around the house right now when the calendar is chaotic and the weather dark and bone-chilling.  It's impossible to be cranky while sipping eggnog or nommin a holiday cookie.  I have to remind myself not to overdose on these dangerous remedies, but a hot cup of wassail, cocoa or even flavored coffee sure does soothe the savage beast!

3) SNOW!  As in, we're expecting some tonight.  I could smell it in the air last night and I swear I can feel it getting closer.  The calm before the storm is so exciting!!!

To wrap things up, I have some requests, a holiday wishlist, if you will:

1)  Can anyone recommend a really good read?  I don't like crime novels unless they have secret society, alternate history or paranormal elements, but I'm pretty game for anything else right now.  I need a book that reads like a big budget movie.  I need a real page turner.  I've been stuck in some good, but not great, books for months now.  I haven't had any book reviews to post since September because nothing I'm reading is holding my attention.  I need some fabulous literary candy to pull me into somewhere else for a while.  Do you know anything like that?

2)  Show me something heartwarming or pretty?  Send me a link to some gorgeous, takes-your-breath-away art, super creative crafting, side-splitting comedy, or stories of acts of fabulous compassion.  I need to tip the scales in favor of magick again, and I'm having trouble seeing the bright side of things right now.

Our holiday party was a smashing success.  We had food and drink a'plenty.  White Christmas gets funnier every year.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.  It was a late night filled with more laughs than I can even remember, and most of which I shouldn't repeat anyhow.  The whole twelve bases of Quidditch thing still has me giggling.  :)

If you came out last night, thank you!  We really loved visiting with each and every one of you and we miss you already.

If you couldn't make it out, we missed you, we hope to see you sometime soon, and we wish you the happiest of holidays.

I'm thoroughly wiped out.  Fortunately, I don't have to do anything today.  I don't even have to clean up ('cause I'm a grownup and I can do whatever I want).  Of course, I did clean up already, because I really enjoy party clean-up; I'm sick that way.  ;)  I have the dishes all washed up and the partyware put away until next year.  I think now I might have a soak in the tub and then maybe write out some holiday cards ...or maybe play some Wii.  :)

I've made some notes for next year's party, which I'm already excited about.  I have actual invitations planned out, and I do think we're going to have to make it a costumed event.  :D

What a fantastic evening!  Heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated!!!  We love you guys!

201 glass balls hung tonight.  I decided to count them this year.  That's about 1/3 or so of my collection, not counting the special ornaments on the tree, the 100 or so lightbulb shaped ones, the plain glass ones I've painted  ...or the antique glass ornaments that were just given to me.  And then there's the icicles and snowflakes, the plastic ornaments, all the special ornaments from my childhood, my Hello Kitty and Bad Batz collections, Craig's Star Trek ornaments, the mini ornaments on the little trees, not to mention beads and lights and ribbons and flowers.  My house is already so sparkly, even though there's *so much more* to do yet.  :D

I woke up way too early today, and it's starting to catch up with me right now.  If it weren't for my hate for needles, I might consider mainlining my coffee.  I don't have time to be tired this week.

I have so very much to do today, from chores to work to holiday prep to other miscellaneous deeds.  This week is going to be a little bit crazy, but if I keep at it and get a bunch of stuff done, the rest of the month will go all the more smoothly.

I started putting up holiday decorations yesterday.  We've been buying strands of LED holiday lights to replace some of the *many* strands of incandescents we put up every year.  I was excited about the energy savings ... and then I hung the first strand and I HATE them.  Ok, I don't totally hate them.  LED holiday lights are better than no holiday lights.  I even went to the effort to try to buy the "warm white" lights, but they're still icky.  They still give off a greenish, very institutional kind of light.  You can't tell so much in daylight or with other lights on, but at night they're very cold and green on their own, and since the holiday lights are pretty much the lights we live by in December... well, I don't think I can live with green mental ward light.  They don't cast pretty shadows or patterns of light on the wall either, which is not only disappointing but kind of eerie, just that halo of misty, weirdly greenish light..

I spent all yesterday trying to talk myself into liking the new lights, but when we used the x10 to shut off the lights for bed and our LED lights dimmed but wouldn't shut off, well then I pretty much decided they aren't replacing the incandescents.  We have an x10 setup we use to control most of the commonly used lights in our house with a remote.  This comes in especially handy during the winter holidays when we have a lit tree and holiday lights plugged into all sorts of inconveniently placed outlets throughout the first level of the house.  It's so nice to be able to stand in the livingroom and turn everything on and off remotely.  The LED lights take so little power though, that the trickle charge the x10 allows through is enough to keep them dimly lit.  When you put up as many lights as we do, dimly lit is still pretty bright, so if we used the LEDs I'd have to manually plug and unplug daily, and that's not going to happen.  I hate that they didn't work out for us, I hate it a lot, but they didn't.  Hopefully warmer, less insanity-inducing LED lights are in the works, because they really are a great energy saver.  I just can't afford to switch over if they're going to make me twitchy and irritable.

Speaking of twitchy and irritable, I'm going to be writing morning pages all December.  I'm not feeling like I need them right now, but I know me and I know how the holidays get to me, so I figure some preventative maintenance would be prudent.  Plus, morning pages are a good place to take stock and make future plans, and December is an excellent time to start planning out the next calendar year.

And, still speaking of twitchy and irritable, I need another cup of coffee to stave off this damn drowsiness.  I have to finish the dishes and throw in my third load of laundry already and write my morning pages, proofread some work, make some holiday gifts, take down one strand of LED lights, put up ten strands of traditional holiday lights, plan dinner, get some shopping in, make a few lists, ...  *sigh*  Need coffee.

Rick Astley just rick-rolled the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!!  FTW!

I went to the dentist today for the first time in WAY TOO LONG!  I hate going to the dentist, and I don't mean that it's unpleasant and I don't like it, I mean I ***HATE*** it.  I've had a long, painful, scary dental history coupled with an intense fear of medical procedures and tools, as well as a strong dislike for being touched, especially around the face and neck.  But, I lost a filling over a month ago and though I knew I would be better off going to get that taken care of before it got worse (no pain yet - knock-on-wood), I just couldn't bring myself to call for an appointment.  It was not happening.  Finally it occurred to me to ask Craig to call for me, which he did.  (Thanks again, Sweetie!!!)  'Cause I swear I was not ever going to call.  Oddly enough, after the initial panic attack when Craig told me I had an appointment, I managed to shove the reality into a dark corner of my mind and not stress over it too much.

So I drove myself to the dentist today, doing my damn best not to think about what I was doing, and had my first appointment in a long time.  The hygienist was extremely kind to me and very gentle.  I think she was slightly amused that I was all clenched fists before she could even get the chair adjusted.  I wouldn't have cared if she laughed out loud at me, so long as she was gentle, and she was very gentle and very nice and never laughed.  I had braced myself for all sorts of "you haven't been here in years so we have a long list of things to fix" news, but my teeth and gums are in good shape!  *WHEW!*  She kept telling me with amazement, "You have really great teeth!"  *thanks the gods of dentistry!!!

So I'm good!  I have an appointment to get my filling replaced on Monday, but I'm just not thinking about that.  I also set up my next six-month appointment already.  The receptionist asked if I wanted to go ahead and set that up, and I said, "I'd better do that now because otherwise, honestly, you'll probably never hear from me again."  heh.

When I got back home there was a package for me on my porch.  It's the sugar skull mold I'd ordered from www.MexicanSugarSkull.com.  I highly recommend them for Dia de los Muertos supplies.  The order shipped very quickly (I ordered on the 16th with standard shipping) and came with all sorts of instructions and information about the holiday.  I've always set up a very small altar for Dia de los Muertos, but this year I've been wanting to make a sugar skull with a crown of ladybugs on it.  My aunt Jadine, who passed away this year, was very fond of ladybugs, and I think she'd get a kick out of a ladybug-crowned sugar skull as an offering and remembrance.  I want to make a skull for Rob too, and maybe my grandparents ...though I don't think they'd be as amused, so I might stick with the usual remembrances for them.  :)  I can't wait to try making the skulls though.  I'll probably give it a go on Friday.

Art class last night was extremely enjoyable.  Both Craig and I are still doing very well.  Our instructor is very good about taking personal time with everyone, and whenever she comes to us, she always says, "You guys are really good!"  :D  That makes me happy.  Still, she does always offer suggestions for improvement, and that makes me even happier.  We're done studying proportion, and are starting value next week, which I'm excited about, and not just because it means I'm done lugging my grocery bag full of still life back and forth every week.  :)

I think we have four more weeks in this class, then there's a break in December before classes start back up in January.  Unless finances get too tight, I'm already ready to sign up for the next class.  Putting myself back in a quality art class is the best decision I've made since marrying Craig (which was my best decision ever!).  I've half joked that I want a degree in visual arts for my midlife crisis, but I'm more sold than ever on that idea.  I need to start researching tuition and schedules and local programs and credit transfers and such.  Maybe for my 40th BDay in two years, I'll go back to school and get the degree I originally wanted!  :D

Ok.  I should quit goofing off.  I need to make some muffins before starting the soup I want to make for dinner tonight.  *slump-yawn*  Or maybe I'll make muffins after dinner.  heh.