randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

We went trick or treating for about an hour, it was fun.  Gage did pretty good, he didn’t need to be carried except for the last few houses.  It was nice.  He didn’t say “trick or treat” though.  He did say “treat” a few times, he also sang The Wheels on the Bus, I’m a Little Teapot and Hickory Dickory Doc a few times.  He exclaimed “a clue!” while knocking on a door once, too.  He did eventually start knocking on doors himself, which was really cute and everytime we went to a house with dogs he said “doggy!”

His costume was quite cute, although he messed up his wings around the 3rd or 4th house.  No biggie though, it was still cute.  I’ll post a picture later.

Someone remind me never to cut Gage’s hair like that…

For the record… that’s a picture of Miko Hughes playing Gage Creed in Pet Sematery.

Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop is doing a “design a bear” contest. The grand prize is to have your design go into production, available at NAAW with a portion of the proceeds going to a charity. 1st prize is a prototype of your bear and a $500 savings bond. It’s kind of interesting. I’m entering, since reps are allowed to enter. I have a couple of ideas that I think would be really cute. If anyone here wants to enter (or have their kids enter), I can email the entry form to you. I might give Gage a form to color on as well… who knows, he might do something brilliant. He’s done some pretty creative things before.

I’m very much enjoying the hockey season so far. The Avs aren’t doing too badly. Had a little trouble on the road at first, but they’re getting it.

The cats are acting strange lately. They’re extremely affectionate. Which is nice, but occasionally annoying. I don’t want to have them begging for affection while I’m going to the bathroom, for example. It’s sweet, don’t get me wrong. But damn. They’re also having some interesting nights with the weather changing. It gets cold and then it’s warm again and all that. And they flip out every time the weather changes. They also keep trying to go outside. If I’m outside or if Gage is outside I let them on the porch. They like to lay in the sun when it’s shining.

It’s certainly important to do a little research when you’re doing anything involving money. Choosing an Online Casino is no different. You’re giving them money and hoping to make money yourself. There’s a lot of room for error. It’s a good idea to look into the top USA casinos online and see what others have to say about them, what other peoples experiences have been and what kind of benefits each site offers. That’s where topusaonlinecasinos.com comes into play. Instead of searching everywhere for information, they’ve got it all — including what kind of bonuses the sites offer, what games and how fast the payout is.  The only complaint that I have about the site is that there are only 10 sites listed, the top 10 sites, and there’s a possibility that people are looking for information on other less popular sites. Other than that, the site is really impressive and offers a lot of really great information.

Gage didn’t want to get dressed this morning. It wasn’t fun chasing him and getting his clothes on him. Especially since my shoulder is killing me. I don’t know what I did to it but DAMN it hurts. It’s virtually impossible to get into a position where it doesn’t hurt although some positions hurt less than others.

I walked up to Conoco earlier to see if they have any blistex. My lips are burning with the preamble to bad chapping. No such luck. They did have carmex, so I got that. It’ll do in a pinch. On the way back I found a 10 dollar bill. So I made $8 going up to get something for my lips. At some point I have to walk up to the grocery store and pick up a few things. I might splurge and get some airbourne for myself to help knock this case of neverending sniffles out.  I’m sneezing more than usual, too.  Usually when I sneeze it’s 1, maybe 2 sneezes and I’m done.  All day yesterday I was doing 5 or 6 sneezes in succession.  A whole lot of not fun.

With everyone going green lately and working to reduce their impact on the earth, it’s a good idea to also consider ways to reduce our impact during the holiday season. There are a lot of things we can do to reduce our impact, even at the holidays. Changing your lights from the standard strands you’ve been using for years to LED Christmas lights is one good way. You can even look into recycling the old ones instead of just throwing them away. You can also buy a Christmas tree that can be re-planted when you’re done with it — which not only reduces the negative impact on the earth, it improves the earth a little bit. If it can’t be re-planted, you can have it turned into compost which can help fertilize the earth. Using decorations that are more natural is always a good idea as well. There’s nothing quite as charming as a tree trimmed with strands of popcorn and cranberries. We did that a lot when I was a kid. Then after Christmas, when we took the tree down, we would put the strands on the trees outside for the birds and squirrels. We always used cotton string to thread the garlands and secured the strands when we put them outside, so the animals couldn’t take them with them and choke or get tangled up in them. Using wrapping paper that’s recyclable is always a nice thing to do as well. That way it can be recycled instead of thrown away. Many wrapping papers out there are non-recyclable, so it does make a difference. Or forgo the wrapping paper and use something else, like newspaper or pretty fabric that can be reused. Greeting cards made from recycled paper are a good idea as well. Personally, I find that the cards made from recycled paper have a touch of character that you don’t get in a lot of other holiday cards anyway. Since misery loves company, carpooling with friends when you hit the mall for your holiday shopping is a good idea. If everyone did their Christmas shopping with a friend or two, think of how many parking spaces that would free up. No more cruising the lot for an hour to snag a spot a mile from the entrance. When you host your annual holiday party, don’t do paper plates and plastic utensils, use the real thing. Is loading a dishwasher really that much work? If it is, make sure the dishwasher is empty and ask your guests to put their used dishes in when they’re done.

I guess it’s a good thing that we don’t have a porch light.  that makes it unlikely that anyone will be coming to the door for trick or treating.  As much as I’d love to hand out candy to the kiddies in their costumes, I have no candy to hand out.  Besides, I’ll be taking Gage out tomorrow night.  His costume should be cute.  I haven’t been able to get it all on him yet.  I’m gonna put him in sweats with the costume over it, so he’ll be layered.  The hood will be the hard part, I think.  I have to find something for him to hold for the candy… he has a spider bag somewhere, but I think it’s packed up.  There’s a camouflage one he can use.  I’ll have to carry something to put candy in as it gets too full.  I also need to get my blinky leopard ears out and make sure they have batteries so I can wear them tomorrow night as well.  We’re probably only gonna do 1 or 2 blocks, and I’ll probably end up with Gage on my shoulders… but it’ll be fun.  Hopefully I can get him to say “Trick or Treat” at some point.

I’ve known a couple of people who actually earn their living, or a good portion of their living by way of online gambling. It’s an interesting vocation, to be sure, but they did pretty well. Managed to work part time and then come home and make money doing something they enjoyed. The bills all got paid, there was food on the table and they usually had money left over to go to the movies or go out to eat every now and then. The biggest problem they ever had was deciding which online casino best suited their needs. Of course, now there’s TopUSAOnlineCasinos.com to help with that. The site has information on the top online casinos in a quick-reference format. So it’s easy to see which site(s) are best for what you want to do. The site offers reviews and information as far as payouts, bonuses and whether you have to download anything. It’s not all Texas Hold ‘Em either. The site shows which casinos have slots, blackjack and other games as well. All the information you could possibly want when you’re deciding where to do your internet gambling.

My neck/shoulder is killing me.  It’s so horrible.  Somewhere in the area where my neck and shoulder connect, there’s a tremendous pain.  It’s fine sometimes, but then it flares up and just goes incredibly OW!  It’s been going on for about a week and I don’t know how to make it go away.  I tried massaging it, I tried warm water/compress, I tried icy hot… I don’t know what else to do.  It’s worse when I try to sleep.  It takes forever to get comfortable, and if I move in my sleep it wakes me up and then it takes forever for me to find a new comfortable spot.  My nose is also about to fall off.  I’ve been stuffed up for a little over a week and the redness and rawness is just making me want to cut it off.

Gage has a bit of a cough.  Nothing too serious.  Every now and then he coughs up a little something, but it sounds like the same cough he had most of last winter.  I think he’s probably got a touch of the Asthma… like everyone else in my family.

I want to watch a bunch of horror movies, but I’m stuck with whatever’s being shown on TV.  I’ve watched Hellraiser three times this week and the Exorcist twice.  A few others here and there as well, of course… no DVD player at the moment and all of my horror movies are on DVD.  Oh the irony, lol.

The holiday season is upon us and the time has come to start all of the baking of the season. I love to bake, personally. It’s one of my favorite holiday activities. I’ve learned over the years that you can do much more and get more joy out of your baking with an Eclectrics® Mixer. Personally, I’m a fan of stand mixers. More specifically, the Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer, which has plenty of power for some of the types of cookies I make at the holidays — especially since several cookies we make have cream cheese based doughs, which makes them tougher to mix than one that starts with butter or margarine. I can’t tell you how many basic hand-held electric mixers my family has gone through mixing these doughs. With the Hamilton Beach® Mixer, it’s not a problem anymore. We don’t experience that burning smell of doom that means that yet another mixer has bit the dust. Another beauty about using an Eclectrics® Mixer is the ease. I’m one of those people who likes to measure everything out before I get started. It makes things easier, because you don’t have to pause in the mixing to measure and add the next ingredient, you can just add when the mix has reached the desired appearance/texture. With a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer, you can get it going, watch and add. If you have to sneeze or stop your dog from chewing on the cabinet door while it’s mixing, you don’t have to interrupt the creaming of the butter. I love it. One recipe that has been made easier is these great cinnamon nut cookies that simply melt in your mouth. I think that almost every cookie my mom made when I was a kid at the holidays had cinnamon in it. Perhaps because it’s so inviting and so reminiscent of the holiday season. These cookies come from a recipe that I developed a few years ago based on an old family recipe. People love the family recipe, but it’s a secret family recipe, so I can’t share it with anyone but my kids. This was something I came up with that is similar in flavor to the family recipe, but very different in preparation that I give to my friends when they want the recipe for my mom’s cookies. They accept that it’s the closest I can give them, and it’s become a bit of a traditioin itself.

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. ground nuts
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheet. In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and 1/2 c. confectioners sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla and nuts. Combine flour, salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix into the creamed mixture to form a stiff dough. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Mix together 1 c. confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned.

I’ve done a lot of reading lately.  Let’s see… first I read Little Women, which somehow I’d never read before.  I thought it was a really good story, very charming.  Now I understand why so many people have said to me “You’re so Jo.”  Except that I’m not what I’d consider clumsy, and I got the impression that Jo is a bit clumsy.  I’d love to see the movie at some point and see how it compares.

Another book in the “I hadn’t read that before…” category that I read was Black Beauty.  Yes, I know it’s primarily for a younger audience than myself, but I’d never read it.  We had a copy when I was a kid, it had a lot of illustrations in it.  But the time frame was before I could read more than a couple of words.  I remember my older sister reading a few chapters to me, but that’s all.  So I finally got to read that one.  It was REALLY good.  Reading it, I kept thinking “jeez this is a great example of the need for standards as far as caring for animals.”  And apparently, that’s about what it was written for.

Chocolat was another book that I read last week.  Another really great book.  I’m actually glad we didn’t watch the movie when we got it from netflix awhile back.  It was romantic and interesting and made me want to start making chocolates professionally, LOL.  It was a good story.  I’m glad that I got the chance to read the book before watching the movie… so now I can get the movie and enjoy it.

Continuing in the books from my “they made that into a movie” bookbox, I read Angela’s Ashes.  God that was a good book.  I’ve wanted to read it for years but never had a chance.  Actually it was promos for the movie that made me want to read the book.  And like the others it’s a movie I wanted to see, but only after reading the book.  It’s a great story.  Really quite moving and interesting.

Brain, by Robin Cook was among the books I read.  It was disturbing to say the least.  Especially since it’s about somethign that people probably suspect the government of actually doing.  Not sure that I’d believe they’re doing it without some hard evidence, but I have no doubt that there’s someone out there at least considering medical experiments without the patients knowledge or consent.

Rules of Prey by John Sanford is on the list as well.  I almost thought that Davenport was gonna lose the guy in this one, seriously.  And while you know who it is, the literary tension is in seeing how the cops figure it out… this is a pretty intense one, I gotta say.  Guess why it’s called suspense/thriller.

See Jane Run by Joy Fielding was not at all what I expected… it was SO  much better.  And more disturbing.  Seriously.  I read this thinking that maybe the woman caught her husband having an affair and stabbed him or he tried to kill her or something… it’s worse.  Much worse.

I think that’s all that I read in the past week or so… there might be more.  But it was a good week for reading, that’s for certain.

Gage just dropped trou in the living room and proceeded to pee on the floor. At least he’s got what I assume is the “proper stance” for peeing standing up, but that was not something that I really wanted to have him do. He’s been scolded, his pants are back on and he cleaned up the puddle, but still… I have to say though, he’s doing pretty good. Since he started school he’s only had 2 accidents at school and since he’s started using the potty he’s only peed the bed twice. He does still have his moments though. There have been a few times that he took his pants off outside and peed outdoors. While I know that boys are equipped to do that, it’s not exactly something I’d like him to be doing.

In other news… I’ve started reading the books from my “They made that into a movie” bookbox. I started with Little Women since I’ve heard so much about it over the years but I’ve never read it. Some of the books that came in it are going to be wild released without being read because I’ve already read them. A Christmas Carol and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, for example. I’m thinking I might read Chocolat next.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding where the guests didn’t find wedding favors sitting at their place setting at the table. They come in various shapes and sizes — sometimes a ribbon or card with wedding info printed on them, suitable for scrapbooking, sometimes a candle or a bottle of wine. I’ve always wondered why no one seems to think outside the box when they’re planning their wedding. After all, while it’s a nice memento of the wedding itself, I think that the favors should reflect something of the people who are getting married. To that end, LittleThingsFavors.com has a great assortment of wedding favors for any type of wedding or budget. They’ve even got a large assortment of items under $1. Not only that, but they’ve got more unique items like poker chips, chocolate puzzle boxes and even tea bags so you can select a wedding favor that reflects the couples interests. There are even same-sex wedding favors and it’s not all rainbows and pink triangles. It’s a great place to shop for your wedding favors, and then a few months after the honeymoon you can shop for favors for the baby shower. They also carry bridal shower favors and even sweet 16 favors.

Gage stayed home from school today. He ate peanut butter toast for breakfast and lunch. Pretzels for a snack. He didn’t throw up all day. I made him some spaghetti for dinner. He just threw up. I don’t get it. I would try going a day or two without giving him spaghetti… but it’s just about all I’ve got that he’ll eat. Haven’t been able to get to the grocery store, and quite frankly don’t have the dough to buy much more than spaghetti or mac & cheese. Unless he has an issue with the thickness of the spaghetti. Somehow I grabbed thin spaghetti last time I went shopping instead of angel hair. I doubt that’s it, though.

I’m not sure there’s a single adult out there who doesn’t know at least one person with an addiction problem. Whether they’re aware of the problem or not. I know that a few years ago someone I know told me that he was an alcoholic. Maybe at the time I should have suggested a program like Malibu Alcohol Rehab. Alas, I didn’t. He hasn’t done anything severe or anything like that, but he has changed quite a bit since then. Yes, after the confession of alcoholism, he cut back on his drinking. But he never stopped. I’m not sure he even tried to stop. It makes me very sad when I wonder if I could have prevented some of those changes in him. From what I’ve read, Malibu Alcohol Rehab is an innovative program, combining traditional methods with herbology, massage and acupuncture to help people overcome their addiction.  Their location provides inspiring views and people participating in the programs are able to engage in a number of outdoor activities like hiking and horseback riding.  While I can’t help but wonder if I made a big mistake by not making the recommendation all those years ago, at least I know I’ll not make the same error again.